The Akatsuki
by brouhahas
Summary: Harry was expecting to have a normal fourth year. He wasn't prepared to be thrown into a dangerous competition. Or to meet the Akatsuki and the trouble that follows.
1. Prologue

**Hey! This is going to be my second attempt at writing a story on this site so please leave constructive criticisms. I'm really sorry if my grammar is horrid. I suck at editing. **

**Anyways, this is going to be one of those "the Akatsuki goes to Hogwarts" stories. I decided after reading some previous stories where the ninjas go to the Harry Potter universe that I wanted to write a story like that too. Although, you can expect some minor and major changes to the characters since the Akatsuki are going to be a mercenary group. The Naruto plotline won't have much influence in this story I'm afraid. I believe there was a story on this site with a similar concept and that's where I got the mercenary idea from.**

**There won't be any romances (maybe, I might add some random fluff), but there is an OC. Sorry, I'll try and make her as human as I can. Just tell me if she starts to sound like a mary-sue. In all honesty I only added her in there to help me write the other characters. I guess it helps me get into the story. **

**Okay enough rambling, enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or Harry Potter.**

* * *

Hibiki stared out the window in boredom. There was absolutely nothing to do around the base. Vacant eyes continued to look at the dull scenery. Honestly, couldn't the boss have picked a better location to set up their base? All there was were depressing straggly trees and a slight fog that never seemed to disappear. She didn't even want to think about the rain. The never. Ending. Rain.

"ARRRRGHHHH!" Hibiki let out a large groan before slamming her head on the table. "I'm boooooored!"

"I don't care."

"Ugh, nobody asked for your opinion Hidan!"

"Hey fuck off bitch! I can fucking hear you sighing and complaining from over hear. Shut the fuck up already!"

"YOU shut the fuck up already!"

"Make me, _bitch_."

There was a moment of silence as the two glared at each other. Hidan was currently sitting in the small area they called a living room with the tiny television on a random channel while Hibiki sat in her usually seat at the corner of the dining table. In a flash she flew across the table, grabbing a nearby cup of water as she slid by it and splashed its contents at Hidan's face. Spluttering he grabbed a couch pillow and attempted to smother her with it, but that only resulted in the two of them falling to the ground in a tangled, writhing mess. Hibiki struggled as Hidan used his weight to press down on her. After a few seconds of cursing and spitting she managed to grab the pillow that fell out of Hidan's grasp and smacked him across the face repeatedly.

"OOF—Bitch!" Hidan swore after a dead on knee to the groin.

With Hidan writhing in pain, Hibiki was given the time she needed to sprint into the kitchen and grab a pan. It was obvious that her physical strength wouldn't be enough to take him down. She needed a weapon.

"Come at me bro!"

As he advanced, Hibiki held up the pan threateningly. Once he was only a mere foot away she struck. Unfortunately for her, the strikes did not deter him and he managed to grab a hold of her arm. For the next couple minutes they wrestled for the pan, swears and well aimed punches flying everywhere.

"Don't pull my hair!"

"Let go of the fucking pan!"

_Ding-dong_

"Never!" Hibiki swung out her arm and scratched Hidan's face.

"Bitch!" Hidan kicked her in the shin.

"OUCH!"

_Ding-dong_

The fighting duo fell to the ground once again.

"Zetsu no jutsu! NOMNOMNOMNOM."

"Stop biting my arm you fucking shitbag!"

"NEVER!"

"I swear to Jashin I'm going to fucking use you as a sacrifice!"

_Ding-dong_

Too preoccupied with each other, they didn't notice Itachi pass by. The black haired male had an emotionless look upon his face, although his eyes betrayed a sign of slight irritation. He had been away on a mission and wanted nothing more than to rest and recuperate. His health had been poor these past few weeks. However, no matter how much he wanted to stay in his room and have nothing to do with the outside world for a few hours, he had to answer the door. It was obvious that no one else around the base was willing to, given the fact that the doorbell rang three times. When Itachi opened the door he was only slightly surprised to see an old man in ridiculous garb standing before him. Pein had informed the Akatsuki a week before that they would be receiving a possible client and through all the years in his line of work Itachi had seen a lot of clients ranging in size and age. This was the first time he had seen someone who looked so frail and ancient coming to their doorstep. Despite what he saw, the experience he gained over the course of the years told him that this man was not to be taken lightly. After all, appearances were deceiving and his intuition told him that underneath a wrinkled and brittle exterior, there lay great power. With that in mind, Itachi began to assess the old man's two attendants. Behind him, drenched in the pouring rain was an old woman with a stern expression and a sneering man.

"Hello, I am Headmaster Albus Dumbledore. My two companions are Professor Minerva McGonagall and Professor Severus Snape." Dumbledore made a hand motion to each as he introduced them. "I believe your leader has already notified you of my visit?"

"He has. Come in." Itachi replied curtly. Dumbledore nodded as he stepped inside and offered a warm smile that made his eyes twinkle. The other two on the other hand were not as willing to be friendly. Instead, Snape grimaced as he glanced around their dingy home while McGonagall huffed and proceeded to pull out a stick and make some nonsense hand motions. To Itachi's surprise and interest, their clothing had suddenly dried. He narrowed his eyes and kept his defenses up. Who knows what else that stick could do.

_CRASH!_

Itachi sighed. Those two were still at it.

"Hey! I just got my uniform fixed you ass!"

"Does it look like I give a damn?"

"I'll cut your head off and dump your body in a hole!"

McGonagall's face twisted to one of horror and revulsion. She turned to Dumbledore and exclaimed, "These are the people you are asking to watch over the school? They're barbarians!"

"Look at the state of their home, it's disgusting. How do you expect them to watch over the tournament if they can't even do simple housecleaning?" Snape snarled.

In truth, the Akatsuki base was disgusting. In addition to the mess the fighting members had created, there was only plain white dry wall to separate rooms, concrete floors, and small windows. The kitchen was filled with dirty dishes, the dining room consisted of two picnic tables pushed together and fold-out chairs cramped around it, and the living room only had a small television and a dirty couch pushed against the wall. All of those areas shared one space. On the left side of the rectangular building there was one long hallway that wound to the back of the house. Along the hallway were the rooms of the members, which were all small, and at the end of the hall was Pein's office. There was only one bathroom. Honestly, you would think a group of high-class mercenaries would be living it up. Kakuzu is the one to blame for their squalor. The greedy miser absolutely objected to sprucing the place up. In fact, he was the one who designed the whole building. The only good thing that came out of it was the money they saved, however, many members decided to take money out of their own pockets to make their own rooms livable. In their heads it's, "Every man for himself!"

Dumbledore meanwhile just looked amused, "Ah, quell your worries. I've looked into the Akatsuki and have found that they are very much capable of getting the job done."

"I don't see why you insist on getting outside help. I'm sure the ministry is perfectly capable of handling the Triwizard Tournament." McGonagall replied with exasperation.

"Let's just say I have a very bad feeling this year. I'm sure that what the Akatsuki has to offer will be more valuable than anything the ministry could provide."

"But are they trustworthy Albus! Is it safe for a mercenary group to be around the students?"

Itachi cut in quietly. "Rest assured, Professor McGonagall. The Akatsuki will do no harm unless we are ordered to." He had decided to give them his input in order to help ease away their suspicions, but the way McGonagall's eyes narrowed behind her spectacles told him that her mistrust was not put away. He even heard the greasy fellow snort.

"What harm will muggles do at a magical school?" Snape sneered at Itachi.

"Now now Severus, you know the saying. Don't judge a book by its cover. I've already spoken to their leader, Pein, before and I know that he is no ordinary muggle. Please, just trust my judgment."

"It's not a matter of—"

"My hair! Let go of my hair!" Hibiki cried out. Hidan sniggered as she attempted to get her ponytail out of his grip. "You're so juvenile!"

"Hidan, let go of Hibiki's hair."

Hibiki and Hidan froze. Pein, in all his intimidating lordliness, stood at the opening of the only hallway in the house. Of course he had heard the commotion the two were making earlier since he was in his office at the back of the house; the thin wall separating his workspace from the kitchen/living room failed to block out the racket. He would have dealt with the two earlier, but he honestly didn't want to deal with the idiots. He figured they would knock each other out for him. Now thinking back on it, he really should have gone out there and knocked them unconscious. It would have spared him the humiliating first impression the clients would receive of his organization. How would they be taken seriously if two of the members are acting like such children?

_ Judging by how much damage they've caused, Kakuzu will punish them accordingly for me. _Pein thought darkly.

"Hey who the fuck are they?" Hidan grunted out after regaining his composure and finally noticing their guests. Hibiki raised an eyebrow in question as she rubbed her sore head.

"They're clients." Pein replied, shooting a sharp look before moving towards the clients and ignoring the two completely. "Hello Dumbledore. May I be correct to assume that you've agreed to my terms?"

"Only if you agree to the terms I have set as well."

Snape took one look at Pein and knew straight away that he was no good. Snape curled his lip at the sight of the so-called leader's appearance: bright orange hair that was more obnoxious than the Weasley's renowned red hair, ghastly piercings along his face, and inhuman purple eyes that seemed to have ripples extending from the pupil. Everything about this man screamed untrustworthy, and he was definitely going to let Dumbledore know his displeasure once they head back to England. There was no way these muggles would be of any help.


	2. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or Harry Potter.**

* * *

Harry woke up in a cold sweat that morning. The lightning shaped scar on his forehead was burning again and he knew he must have dreamt about something involving Lord Voldemort. However, no matter how much Harry tried to remember, he just couldn't seem to recall what he had seen. Everything came out blank, although Harry was able to picture the face of the strange man in his previous dream and the figure of someone next to the man. But even then the details were limited, and as Harry began to regain his senses, the less he could remember. Harry laid breathing heavily on his bed at the Burrow. The sound of rain splattering on the window and the steady breathing of his best friend, Ron, served to calm his beating heart, but the sense of anxiety didn't seem to leave him. The Weasleys had taken him to the Quidditch World Cup and the events that unfolded there made his stomach churn. Many questions plagued his mind as the memories of the Death Eater attack and the mayhem at the ministry came back at full force. His worries of what the casting of the dark mark meant pushed away prior thoughts about his dream.

_ Who conjured up the dark mark? Does this mean Voldemort is coming back and becoming stronger? Has his followers begun to gather once again? _

_ What does this all mean? _

When he couldn't stand just laying there and brooding over the matter by himself anymore, Harry got up and changed into a pair of jeans and a sweatshirt. With the amount of information he has now, there's no chance that he would be able to solve this puzzling mystery. Perhaps tackling the tough task of waking up Ron would help to ease his mind for a moment. After much grumbling and blanket pulling, Ron was finally up and changing. Once Ron finished the two began to bring down their trunks and get ready for their journey to Hogwarts. However, the rainy weather and gloomy atmosphere from the past few days served to dampen the cheer of the usually joyous occasion.

* * *

On the same day in a land far, far, away, the Akatsuki members were sleeping blissfully, well, except for one. Deidara had been up since sunrise. Given the fact that he had to share a home with about ten other people, Deidara had developed a habit of waking up at that ungodly hour. The early bird gets the worm as the saying goes and so there were always fewer fights for the bathroom. Since there was only one bathroom, it was always a battleground in the mornings and evenings, and even when members were out on missions (the frequency of these missions has unfortunately diminished; business has been slow lately), there was always someone left at the base to compete against for bathroom use. Frankly, there was another reason why Deidara preferred to get up earlier than the other members. It gave him the opportunity to wake them up.

With a mischievous smile he stood outside his door holding a pot and pan. He knew choosing the room near the entrance of the hallway was a brilliant decision. It was the perfect starting point. Although he would've preferred to wake the members up with a different method, he had settled on the old pots and pans trick after being left to die by Kakuzu for blowing up nearly the whole house. Taking a deep breath, Deidara sprinted down the hallway with the pot and pan clanging against one another. As soon as he had reached the end of the hall a gleeful shout suddenly joined in with the cacophonous racket.

Tobi burst out of his room, orange mask bobbing up and down as he skipped over to Deidara, arms wide open for a hug. "Good morning senpai! Tobi is awake!" Stopping mid-clank, Deidara kicked him away.

"Make yourself useful and help me wake everyone else, yeah."

"Yes! Tobi is a good boy!" The energetic male proclaimed before scampering off to the kitchen and returning with his own pot and a ladle. "Tobi will wake up Leader and Konan!"

"Fine by me, yeah," Deidara snorted before shuddering. There was no way he was going to barge into their rooms again.

The noisy din started up once again. Deidara quickly moved away from Pein and Konan's rooms once he heard Tobi begin to cry. He proceeded to move down the hallway kicking open doors and entering the rooms while singing a wake up song to the rhythm of the loud clanks. Deidara decided to skip Zetsu, Sasori, and Kakuzu's rooms. He didn't want to go into Zetsu's room since it was filled with various plants that made his eyes water. Besides, with all those plants he wouldn't be able to pinpoint Zetsu's location quick enough to avoid getting something bitten off. Deidara avoided Sasori's room since it was most likely that his partner was already up. Sasori really didn't need any sleep. Kakuzu's room was omitted over the fact that Kakuzu was still annoyed with him for the damages caused months ago and would most likely attempt to kill him (again).

An angry fuck off from Hidan and many variations of shut up and get the hell outs later, the Akatsuki were finally up and moving. Deidara was sitting at the table with a smug look. Harsh bangs and shouts greeted his ears as the Akatsuki shuffled about and argued for the bathroom. It seemed like Hidan was duking it out with whoever was in there. The sound of gushing water and Hidan's splutters made apparent that it was Kisame. A seething Hidan soon appeared from the hallway, muttered profanities and puddles of water following him as he made his way to the kitchen. A few moments later Kisame appeared as well as Itachi and Sasori. They went about their usual morning routines and slowly the other members began to trickle into the area. Tobi still hadn't appeared after entering Pein's room and Deidara hoped that Pein had finally done him in. Unfortunately that wasn't true since Tobi suddenly skipped into the room followed by an irritated Pein and a seemingly emotionless Konan. The tiny pulsing vein on her forehead however said otherwise and her lips twitched into a vengeful smile when she saw Tobi slip on a puddle of water and knock his head painfully against the counter.

"Morning, Konan. Morning, boss. You look chipper." Hibiki said with a cup of coffee raised to her lips. An apathetic look was the only response she received.

Never one to waste time, Sasori went right to business and asked, "What's on the agenda today?"

"We'll discuss it once Zetsu returns," Pein replied before taking a seat. Konan went to the kitchen and began to cook pancakes. Konan, Itachi, and surprisingly Hidan were the only ones from the group who could cook a decent meal consistently, although Hidan was the only one who was never willing to cook anything.

Deidara raised his eyebrows in surprise. "He's been gone, hm?"

Sasori rolled his eyes in exasperation. "Of course he has, who do you think has been providing us with information on the client? Don't tell me you forgot." _Why was I paired up with that idiot?_ However upon reflection Sasori decided that he could have done worse. After all, he could have been paired up with Tobi. Hibiki, on the other hand, did not luck out. He sent her his sympathies before he proceeded to stop caring.

Deidara opened his mouth to say something snarky but then decided against it. The mission _had_ slipped his mind. Deidara frowned as he tried to remember the details of the mission. If his memory was correct, then they were supposed to be guarding a school and protecting its students while some type of competition went on. _Today is going to be interesting, _Deidara concluded. Not only were the Akatsuki finally going to have a major mission in which all members would be partaking, they would also be leaving for a magical school soon. Deidara still couldn't believe it. Who knew witches and wizards existed? Although considering there were hidden villages, it shouldn't have come as a surprised that another secret society was out there. If Sasori could hear what Deidara was thinking at the moment he would have banged his head on the table. How could you forget something as monumental as the existence of magic?

By the time Zetsu materialized from the floor, breakfast was already over. The black and white male took a seat next to Tobi, who was busy omnoming cookies at an alarming rate. How he was able to do so without revealing his face was a mystery.

"The Portkey Dumbledore told us about will be activated in an hour. **The old man said it would be a shoe.**"

"What the hell's a Portkey?"

"Silly Kisame, it's Tobi's shoe!"

"Shut the fuck up Tobi."

"Hn."

"Anybody here speak Uchiha?"

"Tobi's stupidity must be rubbing off on you, Hibiki."

"Shut it, Pinocchio."

"Hey I take offense."

"Your face offends me."

"Real mature."

"I know."

"Oi, Hibiki, you and Hidan still owe me money."

"I'm not paying you a dime, damn heathen!"

"Do you want me to sew your head on your ass again?"

"NOOO! Tobi still has nightmares from that, Kakuzu-senpai!"

"Enough."

All conversations stopped once Pein spoke. His rimmed eyes stared at each member to make sure he had their full attention. Despite the fact that they were mercenaries, they tend to act like a bunch of children whenever the whole group was assembled. Once all eyes were on him, Pein took a moment to revel in the fact that he could finally get them to be serious.

"Where will the Portkey be located?" Pein asked.

"Dumbledore said it would be west of our base in a clearing," the white half of Zetsu said. "**We could go check**", the black half added.

"That won't be necessary. Just go pack your things quickly. We'll be leaving in ten minutes."

Alarmed, Deidara sat up quickly. Crap. He didn't even do his laundry yet. "Ten minutes? What's the rush?"

"It would be better to get there earlier to make sure we don't miss the Portkey." From the corner of his eye Deidara could see Sasori staring at him intensely. He could practically hear Sasori saying, "You better not keep us waiting."

Deidara grumbled. Pein still could've sent Zetsu ahead to check so that they wouldn't have to leave so quickly. It's not like Zetsu had much to bring with him any way and it would take a long time to get to the clearing. A voice in the back of Deidara's head told him that it was probably Pein's way of getting back at him for allowing Tobi to enter his room.

"Is there a problem?"

"No, hm."

"Good. You're all dismissed."

* * *

The storm was getting worse as the train went on. The dark mood in their compartment still hadn't lifted after Malfoy's lovely visit. Ron was still fuming by the time they had arrived at Hogwarts and the pouring rain wasn't helping matters much. The trio and Neville hurried along inside the castle, dodging water balloons being chucked by Peeves and slipping and sliding on the wet ground. Once they managed to duck into the Great Hall, they went and took a seat at the Gryffindor table. Students all around them chattered happily as they reunited with friends. Unable to resist the cheery atmosphere, Ron was finally pulled out of his funk.

The Sorting had barely begun before Ron doubled over and moaned, "Oh hurry up already! I'm starving over here." Harry couldn't help but agree. Minutes later, the two boys, and many others, gave a shout of joy when Dumbledore finally said the magic words, "Tuck in!" Plates filled up and emptied quickly before being filled once more. Hermione, however, refused to eat another bite once Nearly Headless Nick made it known that it was house-elves who made the delicious food. Ron merely shrugged his shoulders at Harry before continuing to stuff his face when Hermione began to go on a rage about how their food was being made from slave labor. She gave Ron a look of disgust when he tried to tempt her with a treacle tart.

The feast wore on uneventfully. Harry sat back and took in the sight of the filled Great Hall that he missed so much during the summer at Privet Drive. Hufflepuffs were conversing amiably. Over at the Ravenclaw table Harry could see a few students subtly reading while their peers talked animatedly about something. He also caught a glimpse of Cho Chang and had to divert his eyes less he start staring. Harry wasn't particularly interested in what the Slytherins were doing, but from the corner of his eye he could see Malfoy gesturing madly while laughing, probably at someone else's expense. A flash of lightning made Harry look up and he noted with surprise that the ceiling was the stormiest he had ever seen in his time at Hogwarts. Despite the raging storm, it didn't diminish the beauty and awe of the enchanted ceiling. Moving his gaze again, he glanced towards the staff table and noticed for the first time that there was an additional table with eleven empty seats as well as an empty seat among the teachers.

By then Dumbledore had started his annual announcements so Harry leaned towards his friends and whispered, "Why do you suppose there's an empty table at the front?"

"Beats me, mate. I don't see any new teacher either. Do you think they couldn't find one this year?" Ron whispered back.

"I'm sure Professor Dumbledore will answer that if you just pay attention." Hermione replied with a stern look that made her resemble Professor McGonagall.

Just as soon as Hermione uttered those words, a large bang caught everyone's attention. A man with an extremely scarred face stood at the Great Hall's doorway. Silence filled the hall as the stranger limped towards Dumbledore, the two exchanging words before the man sat down to the right of Dumbledore's seat.

"Bloody hell, that's Mad-Eye Moody!" Ron exclaimed in hushed awe. "Only the best Auror around!"

"What happened to him?" Hermione whispered in shock. "What happened to his _face_?"

"Dunno," Ron whispered back, looking intently at Moody. "But that eye is freaky."

Harry agreed. It seemed to have a mind of its own as it whirled in impossible directions in Moody's socket. Harry's heart stopped for a moment when the eye looked directly at him before rolling to the back of Moody's head.

"May I introduce our new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher?" said Dumbledore brightly into the silence. "Professor Moody."

Silence from the staff and student body greeted him back, the only sound echoing in the Great Hall were the lone claps of Dumbledore and Hagrid, but even then it stopped pretty quickly. Everyone else seemed too transfixed by Moody's bizarre appearance to do more than stare at him.

Dumbledore cleared his throat.

"As I was saying, unfortunately the Inter-House Quidditch Cup will not take place this year."

Shouts of outrage erupted. Harry was at a loss for words and could do nothing else but open his mouth in disbelief.

When the clamor did not die down, Dumbledore raised his voice above the din, "Silence!"

All noises ceased and Dumbledore went on, "This painful decision was made due to an event that will be starting in October and continuing throughout the school year, taking up much of the teachers' time and energy—but I am sure that you will all enjoy it greatly." At this Dumbledore smiled his signature smile that reached his eyes and made them sparkle. "We are to have the honor of hosting a very special event this year, an event that hasn't been held for over a century. It is my immense pleasure to announce that Hogwarts will be hosting the Triwizard Tournament!"

"WHAT!" said Fred and George loudly, comically shocked expressions on both of their faces.

The Great Hall rumbled with laughter at their outburst and Dumbledore smiled appreciatively at them for breaking the tension. This didn't last long, however, once Dumbledore mentioned the age restriction that will now be in place and a fresh burst of outrage erupted once again. From down the table Harry could already hear the twins plotting a way to get around the restriction despite the clear message from Dumbledore that they were to do no such thing.

Even though he was slightly disappointed, Harry didn't mind the new rule as much as Fred and George did. He was perfectly content with just watching and not have to be the hero for once. However, Harry couldn't help but imagine that he had won the tournament and was being lifted up onto the shoulders of his peers, Cho beaming up at him from the sidelines… Gasps suddenly brought Harry out of his reverie. The empty table at the front was suddenly filled. The strangers all wore black cloaks with red clouds and many looked amused as the students turned to each other, whispering and pointing.

"Ah, you have finally arrived. It's a shame that you missed dinner," said Dumbledore to the new guests.

Harry couldn't hear what the orange haired man sitting in the middle said to Dumbledore, but whatever was said drew a chortle from him. The orange haired man didn't seem very amused.

Dumbledore coughed, "Now, where was I… Oh yes, the delegations from Beauxbatons and Durmstrang will be arriving in October and remaining with us for the greater part of the year. In addition to that, I have employed the Akatsuki to help make sure that there will be no casualties at our school. Let me introduce their leader, Pein." Dumbledore then gestured towards the orange haired man whose strange eyes scanned the room. Hermione looked appalled by all the piercings that covered his face.

"And this lovely flower is Konan," continued Dumbledore. To the right of Pein a lavender haired woman with a paper flower adorning her hair nodded at the students. She too had a piercing.

Dumbledore repeated the process for each person, saying their name and then pointing out who they were. The member would then greet the students in their own way.

To the left of Pein was Zetsu, or the plant man as Ron had dubbed him. Zetsu gave a short wave to which a few tentative first years waved back, but the rest of the students were too transfixed by the large fly trap that seemed to be growing out of him.

Next to him was an uncomfortable looking woman with black hair tied back into a ponytail. Harry had briefly heard Dumbledore say that her name was Hibiki, and before she could say anything, the bouncing male beside her cut in.

"HELLO! Tobi's name is Tobi!" he said while waving wildly. "Nice to meet you!"

The tall blonde next to Tobi, who Dumbledore addressed as Deidara, looked irked and his agitation became even more apparent when Tobi's flapping hands whacked him in the face. Deidara made a move to hit Tobi, but the red head adjacent to him, Sasori, murmured something that made him freeze.

Seamus nudged Ron and said, "Look Ron, it's your long lost brother!" Surrounding Gryffindors laughed while a scowling Ron told them to shut it.

On the right side of the table a black haired man dipped his head down when Dumbledore said, "Itachi Uchiha." Ron turned to Harry and gagged when several girls blushed. The girls stopped swooning once they turned to look at Kisame as he was introduced next. The large blue shark-like man smiled wide and sharp teeth was revealed. A muggle-born at the Gryffindor table started to hum the Jaws theme and for a split second Kisame looked ready to tear someone apart. Hidan who stood beside him snickered and Harry thought that he could have passed as Malfoy's older brother, despite the obvious silver hair and pink eyes.

The last member to be introduced was Kakuzu. Like the other members his appearance warranted hushed whispers and stares. He towered over the other members, with the exception of Kisame, and his face was covered by a white hood and a black mask. The only part of his face that was visible was his unnatural red and green eyes. They were almost as terrifying to look at as their leader's.

Much like Moody's earlier introduction, there wasn't much applause. If Mad-Eye Moody's appearance had startled them, the Akatsuki's topped the cake. Some of them didn't even look human.

Dumbledore's amused expression did not leave his face as he said, "I know that you will all extend every courtesy to our foreign guests while they are with us, and will give your whole-hearted support to the Hogwarts champion when he or she is selected. And now, it is late, and I know how important it is to you all to be alert and rested as you enter your lessons tomorrow morning. Bedtime! Chop chop!"

* * *

On the way to the Gryffindor dormitory the Akatsuki were the topic of every conversation.

"Where do you think Dumbledore found them?" asked Hermione, brows furrowed. "I've never heard of the Akatsuki before."

"Maybe he found them at the circus freak show," suggested Ron.

"Ron! That's so rude!" Hermione reprimanded. "Just because they look a little… different… It doesn't mean—"

"A _little _different? Hermione, those were the strangest muggles I've ever seen! Makes me wonder why Dumbledore would ever hire them to do a wizard's job." said Ron.

Hermione stopped walking. "Muggles? What makes you think they're muggles?"

"Well, I'm pretty sure I would've heard of them if they were wizards."

With that answer, Hermione moved along silently deep in thought, brows furrowed and a frown present on her lips. Harry recognized that look immediately and knew that she was planning to do some research later. Shaking his head, Harry decided to carry on the conversation as they entered the common room.

"This is going to be an interesting school year."

"You bet. If Fred and George find a way to get around the judge, I might just go for it. Dunno if we've learned enough though…"

"Weren't you listening, Ron? People have died in the tournament! I, for one, think it was a brilliant decision to put an age restriction. Now get to bed. It's too late to be thinking up half wit plans," Hermione ordered before making her way up the stairs to the girls' dormitory. Her mood had suddenly gone south when she saw the warm lit fireplace. While she was going up the stairs Harry could distinctly hear her muttering, "_Slave labor_."

The two boys looked at each other and shrugged.

* * *

**Yeah, not much was happening in this chapter. It's going to be a slow start. I used some quotes from the book, but I'll try not to do it too often in the future. There are also going to be elements from the book and the movie in this story, but mostly stuff from the book since I have a copy of it with me. Hopefully this chapter wasn't too much of a bore to read.  
If you were wondering why the Akatsuki showed up so late at the feast, it was because they missed the Portkey. :)  
That explains why there was so much rain.**


	3. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or Harry Potter.**

* * *

The next day at breakfast, students were eagerly waiting to receive their schedules. A few students were also watching the Akatsuki with interest. The subjects of their stares were starting to get annoyed. Very fast. The gawking was acceptable on the first day. To be honest, the Akatsuki enjoyed seeing their surprised looks. It was amusing. However now it was just getting old. Don't these kids have anything better to do?

Deidara rolled his eyes when he saw a handful of girls ogling at Itachi. It's always Itachi. Personally Deidara felt offended. He was good looking too!

With a huff Deidara turned to Sasori and asked, "What do you think we should do once these brats start going to class?" Before they had gone to bed, Pein told them that they wouldn't be needed until the tournament officially starts. For now their job would only be patrolling the school grounds. Nearly two months of that seemed like such a bore.

"I'm going to drop by the classes and see what these wizards can do. I trust I can leave you on your own."

"Pft, don't try to get rid of me," Deidara smirked.

Whether or not Deidara's decision to tag along bothered him, Sasori did not let it show. Instead, Sasori continued to push the eggs on his plate around. He didn't need to eat anything, but with the amount of attention the students were giving them, Sasori didn't want to draw any suspicion by missing out on the most important meal of the day. Half-lidded brown eyes staring at nothing while he waited (much to his irritation) for the day to officially begin. When he was sure no one was watching, Sasori dumped some of his eggs onto Tobi's plate. That boy was like a bottomless pit in which food kept disappearing to. Every time you blinked food just disappeared from Tobi's plate.

_How does he do that so quickly with his mask on? _Were the thoughts of many frustrated students (plus Deidara).

The Akatsuki, much to Pein's pleasure, ate breakfast somewhat civilly. The only incident that brought unneeded attention was when Kisame nearly stabbed Hidan with a fork for something as idiotic as getting the last piece of ham. Breakfast time was ending soon and so the food had stopped replenishing itself.

* * *

"Hibiki-kohai! Let's explore the castle together!" said Tobi, bouncing excitedly as the students began to make their way to class.

"Eeeeh? Why do I have to go with you?" she asked.

With his finger pointing up in a matter-of-fact pose, Tobi replied, "Because Tobi is Hibiki-kohai's senpai! The kohai always follows the senpai."

Hibiki raised her eyebrow and gave Tobi an incredulous look. "Well with that logic, shouldn't you be following Deidara?"

They stood in silence for a moment.

"YOU'RE RIGHT!" Tobi made a move to run towards Deidara, but stopped once he realized he was no longer there. In fact, none of the other members were to be seen either.

_Jerks._ Hibiki thought bitterly.

"HOW CRUEL~ HOW COULD THEY LEAVE ME ALL ALONE?" A waterfall of tears erupted through the single eyehole of his mask.

"…That's my line."

"That's it! Tobi will just have to find Deidara-senpai!" Tobi dashed off into the crowd of students.

"H-hey! What happened to sticking together? WAIT!" shouted Hibiki before quickly following after him. She had a gut feeling that she would regret it later if Tobi was left to his own devices.

And so begins their search for Deidara.

Thankfully Tobi had slowed down. Like a lost puppy he started to poke around the hallway, lifting up potted plants and looking around pillars while calling out Deidara's name. Once he knocked on a suit of armor, and when it shook violently with a "KNOCK IT OFF", Tobi kicked its helmet off in fright.

"It's alive!"

A group of Hufflepuff students laughed as they passed by. One of them, a tall and handsome one at that, made a comment before turning the corner. "The paintings move too."

Hearing this, Tobi and Hibiki quickly snapped their heads toward the wall. As if being pulled by a magnet, Tobi instantly flew towards a painting of two ladies.

"Hello! I'm Tobi!" he said energetically.

"Hello, my name is Emily" said the lady on the right weakly before gesturing to the fuming woman next to her, "and this is Mary."

"What's the matter?" asked Hibiki curiously.

Mary sniffed indignantly and wailed, "That awful boy! All I did was say that I thought his hair was lovely and that he should wear something to compliment his figure." She took out a fan and started to wave it wildly. "And then she just blew up on me! How was I supposed to know that was a _boy_?"

Emily nodded fervently. "How uncouth! Speaking to a lady like that, he should be ashamed!"

"Uh… he didn't happen to have blonde hair, did he?"

"Hmph, he did. And if I see him again… I'll… I'll…"

Hibiki facepalmed. Of course it was Deidara. "Do you know where he went?"

"I'm not sure, he turned the corner though," replied Emily. Mary was too busy plotting Deidara's death to respond.

"Oh, thanks." Hibiki sighed, "Well Tobi, I guess we're just going to ha—"

Tobi was gone. Damn it.

"Hibiki-kohai sure is slow! If you don't hurry up, senpai will get angry~" he called, annoying voice echoing down the hall.

Rolling her eyes, she concentrated some chakra to her feet and caught up to him. "Quit leaving me behind all the time."

Ignoring her, Tobi poked his head into a classroom. "Hmmm… Senpai isn't there."

They did this with nearly every room on the ground floor. Deidara wasn't in any single one of them and frankly Hibiki was starting to get tired it. She barely got any time to take in one part of the castle before Tobi whisked away to another part.

Suddenly, a booming bell echoed throughout the castle and students began to fill the hallways again, causing Hibiki to lose sight of Tobi. Wonderful. Just wonderful. Hibiki sighed in defeat. Hopefully the boss doesn't hold her accountable for Tobi's actions. Until she ran into him again, Hibiki figured she could just take it easy and wander about.

Tobi, on the other hand was starting to get frantic. Where was his senpai? And what happened to his kohai? He was sure she was right behind him.

"Tsk tsk, what a bad kohai. Well I'm not going to stop looking, 'cause Tobi is a good boy!"

Completely reenergized, the search continued.

Up in the History of Magic classroom, Deidara sneezed. The droning ghost, Professor Binns didn't pause in his speech at the loud noise, however many sleeping first years stirred. The ghost, unlike the teacher from the Muggle Studies class, didn't say a word about the two Akatsuki members joining the class. Of course the students had sent them curious glances, one was even bold enough to try and start a conversation, but once Sasori made it clear that he wasn't going to respond, the student soon gave up.

Sasori sighed. This class wasn't particularly interesting. He was slightly disappointed since he was expecting so much more, but that ghost was just going on and on about goblin wars. He didn't give a damn about goblins.

"Let's go."

"Already, yeah?"

"This is a waste of time," Sasori said simply as he walked out of the room. Deidara shrugged and followed after his partner, Deidara would have said the same thing anyway.

"I guess we're going to the second floor, yeah."

The duo walked along the corridor in silence. Deidara would occasionally cast looks of distain at the paintings. How could those pitiful things be considered art? The fact that they could talk irked him too. Luckily, before Deidara could comment on it and start an argument about the true nature of art with Sasori, a bell rang.

"Class must be over," commented Sasori.

"SEEEEENPAAAAAAAI!"

Deidara cringed, "Crap, where is he?"

"Calm down, the idiot's just standing in the courtyard screaming." Sasori gazed out the window and pointed out Tobi. Amused Gryffindors were doing the same.

"Hey, isn't he with you guys?" a redhead asked, another with identical features turned towards them. "By the way, we're Fred and George."

"Yes, unfortunately," replied Sasori, his half-lidded eyes watching Tobi running across school grounds with distaste. "I thought Hibiki was supposed to be with him."

"Obviously not, yeah," said Deidara. "Hey, you. What classes are worth looking in to." The twins, surprised that they were addressed so directly, grinned.

"Well, mate, I'd suggest you avoid Potions."

"A dreadful old bat lives there, you see."

"And the dungeons are also crawling with slimy snakes."

"Charms and Transfiguration are okay- if you like the boring stuff."

"They do teach some neat tricks though—"

"But if you two are in for a bit of excitement,"

"Then Defense Against the Dark Arts is a must," the twins said in unison. Cheshire grins growing ever so slightly.

"It's being taught by good ol' Mad-Eye Moody this year. He was one of the best Aurors around back in the day, I hear," said George.

Sasori quirked a brow, "Aurors?"

"Dark wizard catchers," answered Fred, "What kind of rock have you been living under?"

"We're not from around here, yeah."

"Then where are you from?" asked George.

"That's none of your business," Sasori deadpanned, ending their conversation just like that.

"You really have no social skills," Deidara snickered while walking after him.

Fred and George could only watch them saunter away.

"Weird lot, aren't they?"

* * *

Zetsu was having a blast. For the first part of the morning block he had been hanging out in the greenhouses. He even stopped by one greenhouse to watched fourth year Gryffindors and Hufflepuffs extract pus from plants called bubotubers.

"Harry— Look!"

At the prodding of Hermione, Harry looked up from the disgusting work, "_What?_"

"It's Zetsu," she pointed, "It's hard to see him, but he's over by those mandrakes."

"Bloody hell, is he in the ground?"

Sure enough, Harry and Ron were able to see the flytrap sticking up from the ground. If that was an attempt to look like the many exotic plants in the greenhouse, it was working.

"How's he doing that?"

"Maybe he used a spell?"

"I've never heard of a spell that allowed you to merge with the ground…" Hermione muttered, puzzled.

Zetsu turned his head and made eye contact with the trio. Without saying anything he slowly sank into the earth.

"What was that?" Ron exclaimed.

"Is there a problem, Mr. Weasley?" asked Professor Sprout. She hurried over to make sure he hadn't injured himself.

"E-er, nothing, professor."

Professor Sprout narrowed her eyes suspiciously. "Well alright, get back to work then, Weasley. That pus won't collect itself!" She gave a cheerful smile and then proceeded to go help another student.

"You saw that, right?"

Harry and Hermione nodded.

Zetsu had disappeared without a trace. For the rest of the class, the trio were unable to focus.

Once the bell rang, the three friends made their way down the wet lawn towards Hagrid's hut for their next class. They couldn't help but feel like they were being watched. However, no matter how many times they glanced around, there was nobody there. Feeling anxious, the three quickened their pace until they arrived at the little hut. Zetsu, who was hidden in the trees, followed after them easily.

There wasn't any particular reason as to why he was stalking them; he just felt that there was something strange with the black haired boy, Harry. He could feel something radiating off of him that he just couldn't name. Curiosity overcame Zetsu and he decided to stay and watch the three kids. He would have to discuss this with Pein later, but for now he was just going to observe.

* * *

At lunch time the Akatsuki were behaving like toddlers again. Although they tried to keep their voices down, it just kept escalating as the members argued with one another. Pein and Konan were not present (they were busy reading in the library), and so there was no one to keep them in line.

"I thought I told you to watch him, yeah." said Deidara, pointing a fork at Hibiki threateningly. "He got us kicked out of Transfiguration!"

"You didn't say anything. You guys just left without a word! And why do you expect me to watch him all the time anyways?"

"He is your partner, Hibiki." Sasori chimed in.

"Yeah, well, I want to switch! C'mon Sasori, I know you don't want to be partnered with Deidara either."

"Don't try to steal him, yeah!"

"I'm not stealing him—here, let's have him decide." Hibiki took a biscuit off the table and waved it in Sasori's face, "Here boy!"

"I'm not a dog," he deadpanned.

"You sure look like one."

"Oh you're _hilarious_."

"At least she doesn't have a stick up her ass, yeah."

"Is that figurative or literal?"

"That's disgusting, Hibiki."

"Says the guy who has a stick up his butt."

Glaring, Sasori subtly attached chakra strings onto Hibiki and made her hit the table. Deidara burst out in laughter at her pain, catching the attention of the neighborhood lollipop.

"ARRGH! WHAT'S YOUR PROBLEM?"

"You."

"Oya oya- Why are you guys fighting?" Tobi paused in his gluttonous splurge and wiggled in his seat. "Perhaps you need a time out?"

Hibiki stopped pulling Sasori's hair and turned to Tobi, a dark look shadowing her face.

"If you say the wrong thing, Tobi, I swear to Jashin—

"OI! Don't say Jashin's name in vain, god damn heathen!"

"—I'm going to rip your guts out and feed them to Zetsu."

At the mention of human intestines, Zetsu perked up.

"**Give me some meat.**" Chicken just wasn't cutting it for him. "Do you think we could take a student?"

"Hell yeah! Jashin needs some sacrifices," said the resident zealot.

"Don't you dare," grunted Kakuzu, "I am not going to let you jeopardize our mission for some god that doesn't exist."

"The fuck did you just say?"

It was a good thing Professor McGonagall decided to stay in her office, who knows what she would have done after hearing Hidan swear like a sailor.

"The organization has gotten a lot livelier, doncha think?" said Kisame. In his opinion the organization wasn't as gloomy anymore after some younger members finally joined.

"…"

Oi Itachi, you've been quiet."

"Hn."

Kisame should have expected that.

Food was now being thrown at the Akatsuki's table. Itachi, sensing the impending storm, left with Kisame to go to the lake for some peace and quiet. They were long gone before the first muffin was tossed. Sasori had attempted to get away too, but his plans were foiled when Hibiki grabbed his cloak and pulled him back. She was about to smash a plate of food in his face too until they were suddenly knocked to the ground by a struggling Deidara and a rabid Tobi.

"GET OFF ME, YEAH!"

"…I can't breathe…"

"I better not have broken anything."

While those four were fighting on the ground, Kakuzu was busy dealing with Hidan. The fool actually thought he could take him on. Ignoring the brats watching, Kakuzu struck his arm out and successfully knocked Hidan out as soon as he saw an opening. Picking up Hidan's limp body with ease, he tossed him to Zetsu who was watching the whole scene unfold silently.

"Go dump him in a hole or something."

"Sure, **we'll dispose of him…**" Zetsu gave a toothy smile that wasn't at all friendly before sinking into the ground, taking Hidan with him.

Kakuzu looked fiercely at the staff. None of the head of houses were there. Dumbledore was missing too. _These wizards are all pathetic_, he thought. _Not one of them even bothered so say anything_, _not even the notorious Mad-Eye Moody_. Truthfully the teachers present were too intimidated by the Akatsuki to do anything. Never in their life have they seen behavior such as this. They were all thinking something along the lines of: _What was Dumbledore thinking?_

Kakuzu left without a word.

"Hermione missed out," said Harry breathlessly.

"Serves her right- she's a lunatic for going to the _library_," Ron said that word like it had a disease and then ducked when a plate missed its target "What d'you think she's doing in there anyway?"

"Who knows?" And that was the truth. Sometimes they just couldn't understand what went through Hermione's head.

The Great Hall, which had been hushed in the beginning, suddenly roared with life. Down the table Harry could hear Fred and George taking bets and various students egging the wrestling members on. Harry couldn't think of any other time when Hogwarts was this disorderly. The teachers were unable to control the situation.

In the library Pein shuddered. His leader senses were tingling.

"I need to check something."

Konan nodded in understanding and returned to reading _Hogwarts a History_.

Not wasting time, Pein used the chakra gathered in his feet to arrive at the doors of the Great Hall in five seconds flat. On the other side of those doors, Hibiki's "incoming pain" alarms were ringing at full alert. After hanging around Tobi so much, and consequently getting into trouble, she had started to develop something like a sixth sense when it came to sensing when Pein was about to arrive at the scene of the crime. Forget trying to take Tobi's mask off, she was going to get the hell out of there! Seeing the panicked look on Hibiki's face, Sasori also got the idea to remove himself from the area and Deidara, not wanting to be left alone with the village idiot, flew out the window too. Being the last to get the memo, Tobi was present when Pein opened the large doors. The sight almost gave Pein a heart attack. It was an absolute mess!

"Eheheh… Hello leader~" Tobi waved. "You can clean up." He then teleported and left a fuming Pein behind.

_God damn it. In just one day they have already destroyed any kind of credibility we have._ One look at the kids could tell him that the unspoken bit of fear and intimidation the students felt, but never expressed, was gone. That would not do. How can they be taken seriously now? Even the teachers must think the Akatsuki are incompetent.

Pein was going to have a very long talk with the troublemakers.

* * *

"They did _what?_" Hermione asked in disbelief.

"Yup, made a mess of the Hall," George said with a grin.

"You shoulda seen the look on Pein's face!" Fred chortled.

"It was unbelievable!" added Neville.

"Bet you regret goin' to the library now, huh?" Ron said with a cheeky smile.

Nose in the air, Hermione responded with a "hmph!"

"If you must know, Ron, I got a lot of things accomplished. Aren't you going to ask what's in the box?"

"Box?" Ron had been too busy watching Fred, George, and Lee Jordan reenact the lunchtime brawl to notice the tiny thing. Everyone was still talking about the fiasco even though it was evening now. During dinner none of the Akatsuki showed up except for Pein, Konan, Itachi, and Kisame, and many Gryffindors were coming up with theories about what happened to the rest by the fire.

"This box, Ron." Hermione slid off the lid to show Harry and Ron a bunch of buttons with S.P.E.W written on them. She spent the next half hour trying to convince them to join her cause, but when it finally clicked in Hermione's brain that they were not paying attention to her any more, she changed topics.

"I also found something interesting."

"Hm?" Harry absentmindedly replied.

"Normally I wouldn't go into the restricted area in broad daylight, but Pein and Konan were in the library the same time I was so Madame Pince didn't notice me slip in." She lowered her voice to make sure she wasn't overheard. "I found a scroll hidden in the back of one of the bookshelves." With the utmost discretion, she pulled it out of her book bag. However, it was blank when she unrolled it.

"There's nothing inside of it. What's so special about that?"

"Use your head, Ronald," Hermione said in exasperation. "It's charmed to look blank, like the Marauder's map." She took out her wand and flicked her wrist while muttering an incantation Harry didn't recognize. Slowly black ink began to appear and form strange squiggly lines.

"It looks like someone's doodled on it."

"It's Japanese characters, Ron." Another flick of her wrist and a translation spell later, the squiggly lines took the shape of letters.

"How d'you know all this stuff?" Ron asked, voice filled with awe and a little bit of annoyance.

"If you picked up a book, then maybe you'd learn something," snapped Hermione.

Ron mumbled something unintelligible.

"There's a place hidden off the coast of Japan where demons run amok."

"What?"

Ignoring the weird look Ron gave him, Harry continued reading, "There's a place hidden off the coast of Japan where demons run amok. It has been there since the beginning of time and it shall remain there; a separate entity, a place where wizards should keep out and where ninjas should remain. Nothing good can ever be achieved if these two different societies mix. Leaving was a mistake. I'm sorry, but I must decline." There was a pause of silence once he finished. "It sounds like this was a letter to someone."

"What's it doing in the library?" asked Ron.

"Who knows? It must have been misplaced," Hermione said, "but never mind that. It's what's written inside that's important. There's another secret society out there we don't know about!"

Ron didn't look very ecstatic. "Hermione, that's crazy. For all we know, some loony might have written this."

"But we _don't_ know. That's why I'm going to do some research. I think I might be able to find something about the Akatsuki too."

"Hermione's right, Ron. It might explain why they could do all those weird things. There's definitely something off about them."

Two against one, Ron could do nothing else. "Oh alright, we'll go to the library."

* * *

**And that ends Chapter 2. I hope you enjoyed it! Please review and feel free to ask me questions if you want me to clarify something.**


	4. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or Harry Potter.**

* * *

For the next month Hermione, Ron, and Harry spent their free time in the library trying to find anything that would tell them about ninjas and hidden places. They didn't have much success and Harry was beginning to think that they were just going on a wild goose chase. Hermione was still convinced, however, and so Harry and Ron were forced to keep looking. As a result there were many late nights staying up doing homework. Despite the upcoming event, school had been progressing normally and the professors were not going easy on the assigned work. It wasn't too bad though. Many students were able to find relief and entertainment in watching the daily antics of the Akatsuki (mostly Tobi). After a month in Hogwarts, the Akatsuki were finally able to get comfortable and learn enough about the wizarding world that they weren't constantly getting startled by something in the castle, although there are always new surprises. From what they have observed about the wizards and their magic, the Akatsuki didn't think the wizards and their wands (or sticks as Hidan was adamant in calling them) would pose as any possible threat to them in the future. With this reassurance, the Akatsuki interacted with the Hogwarts inhabitants will less caution.

Harry was feeling optimistic. Even though for the past few weeks their routine had been going to classes, researching in the library, and jotting answers on parchment sluggishly in the late evenings, he was content. There were no murderers on the loose, no crazy teacher with Voldemort on the back of their head, and no monsters lurking in the shadows and picking off students. Every day it seemed more and more like it was going to be a normal year, well as normal as it could get with the tournament going on. Nevertheless, it seemed like a year where Harry could finally just enjoy being at Hogwarts without worrying about the health of his friends or himself. Nothing could change the easygoing feeling Harry felt—except for the all too familiar pain in his scar when he woke up one rainy October morning. He gasped and pressed a hand to the scar. It felt hot under his touch. It was a Saturday so everyone in the dorm was still asleep. Quietly, Harry went into the bathroom and splashed water in his face. He didn't know why he was shaking so much. He returned to his room and changed out of his pajamas. There was no way he was going to be able to go back to sleep.

No one else was awake when Harry stepped into the common room. The rain seemed to be pouring down harder and he was grateful that the house-elves kept the fire burning. With nothing else to do, Harry decided to go to the Great Hall and see if there was any food. To his surprise, someone else got there before he did.

"G-good morning," said Harry.

"Hn."

An awkward silence came soon afterwards. Not knowing what else to say to Itachi, Harry took a seat and began to eat breakfast. Itachi watched Harry briefly before turning his attention back to his own food. They both ate in silence until Deidara barged into the hall.

"Tch, it's you," Deidara said when he saw Itachi sitting there. He didn't even spare Harry a glance as he sat down as far away from Itachi as he could. After maybe twenty minutes of eating in uncomfortable (for Harry at least) silence, Kisame came in followed by Hibiki and Sasori.

"Maaaaaaan you sure look rested, Itachi," yawned Hibiki as she stretched. "I don't know how you could've slept- I could hear Kisame snoring from all the way down the hall." Hibiki sent Kisame a reproachful look, to which he replied with an unapologetic grin.

"Enough chit-chat. Pein is calling us for a meeting so hurry up," said Sasori.

"Whafthflor, hm?" garbled Deidara through a mouthful of bacon and sausages.

"We'll know when we get to the meeting," snapped Sasori, "now hurry up."

Not wanting to suffer at the wrath of a cranky Sasori, Deidara complied and grabbed a few pieces of toast on his way out.

"If you don't want to be late, I suggest you be quick," Sasori said while exiting.

"Yes, mother," sighed Hibiki. With Itachi's help, Hibiki and Kisame set out to accomplish what they came here to do.

"I think this is enough food, Kisame," commented Itachi.

"You sure? I think we'll run out once Hidan wakes up."

"Why are you worried about Hidan? You should worry about Tobi- And Zetsu's a whole different story."

Kisame paused in thought. "You're right, Hibiki. I don't like the look on Zetsu's face lately."

"He's just really hungry. You should probably watch your back or else he'll turn you into shark fin soup."

"Hmph." There was the slightest semblance of a pout on Kisame's fearsome features.

"Hahaha, let's go. Pein must be calling a meeting because of what Zetsu said yesterday. We should hurry or else Sasori's going to throw a hissy fit."

"What did Zetsu tell him?"

"I dunno, something about noticing some strange activities in the area."

"Oh?"

"Yup. I'm guessing someone was lurking near the school."

"Interesting…"

The three members, all balancing plates of food, left the Great Hall. Before Itachi went through the doors, he looked at the eavesdropping Harry. Having been found out, Harry quickly diverted his eyes back to his plate which he had subconsciously piled with more food to prolong his stay. Harry couldn't help his curiosity.

* * *

Pein waited patiently for all the members to gather. Sasori had already returned from retrieving his partner and hopefully Itachi would see to it that Kisame and Hibiki came back in a timely manner as well. Since Deidara was back, Pein left the task of waking Tobi and Hidan to him. The bomber had a lot of experience in that area anyway.

After ten minutes, Pein's (and Sasori's) patience was waning. From down the hall Pein could hear Tobi shouting nonsensical things. Deidara was having trouble pulling the blankets off of Tobi who kept slinking under it and out of Deidara's grasp. _How disappointing, _Pein thought. Fortunately, Hidan awoke on his own accord and sauntered into the room just as Itachi, Kisame, and Hibiki entered carrying food.

"About time," scoffed Sasori.

"We had a little trouble with Peeves," Kisame replied.

"FOOD. I'm fuckin' starving."

"Oooh no you don't. We have to split it evenly," said Hibiki while wagging her finger.

"Whatever," Hidan said and took a more than generous amount of bacon for himself.

Hibiki sighed and turned towards Pein, "Is the meeting starting yet?—Huh? Where'd he go?"

"To get Tobi," said Konan as she sat down, "Deidara is taking too long."

Sasori snorted and muttered something that sounded like a snide "Ya think?"

"What's the meeting about?" asked Kakuzu in his gruff voice.

"We have an uninvited guest. **We're going to welcome them.**"

At that moment Tobi burst into the room and scrambled into his seat followed by a flustered Deidara and Pein who carried with him a dark aura.

"Good. Everyone's here." Purple eyes stared the members down and dared them to interrupt as he said, "The meeting will begin."

"As you all might know, yesterday Zetsu reported that there have been strange movements around the castle. I performed the _Ukojizai no Jutsu_ and have confirmed that there is indeed an intruder. Right now he is at the edge of the Forbidden Forest."

"What are we going to do about it?" inquired Hibiki.

"How else? We intercept him," Kisame said, a look of excitement in his eyes at the prospect of a good fight.

"I like the sound of that!" exclaimed Hidan. If he had his scythe with him he'd probably be brandishing it wildly.

"Before you go and do something reckless, you should remember that we have to interrogate the target," said Pein.

"How long have you been aware of his presence, Zetsu?" asked Sasori.

"Since a week ago. He's been appearing off and on, usually near another member."

"Whoa whoa whoa—there's been a suspicious person near us and you never thought to mention it until now, yeah?"

"I thought you guys would have noticed. **You've been slacking off.**"

"That's another issue I want to discuss," said Pein with a harsh look at the members. "You've all gone soft." At that remark some looked offended. Hidan was about to open his mouth to retort, but before he got anything out Pein continued. "Starting today, I expect every one of you to be on guard and take the mission seriously seeing as the other schools arrive in two more weeks." Pein paused and the other members took it as a cue to respond in affirmative. Satisfied, Pein carried on. "It's still a bit early, but we need to capture him before the students start to move about—"

"Oohh~ Oooh~ Tobi will go!"

"What! Hell no, it's been fuckin' months since I gave Jashin a sacrifice. A dipshit like you ain't fuckin' taking it!"

"Calm down, there's a perfectly fair way to decide this… Rock, paper, scissors!" Hibiki clapped.

"Hey I want in," Kisame said and joined Tobi and Hidan.

"Me too, yeah!"

"I'm surrounded by idiots," said Sasori blankly.

Pein sighed; He lost their attention. Konan just looked at him in amusement.

"YAHOOO!" Tobi was bouncing around the room in victory.

"You fucking cheated!"

"Oh boohoo, suck it up Hidan. Looks like Tobi and I will be going to intercept the enemy, right boss?"

"Fine." What was the use in arguing? It was only going to cause him a migraine. "The intruder has started to make his way towards the Owlery."

Tobi and Hibiki saluted before disappearing.

"While they are heading towards the intruder, we will split up and be stationed at different areas of Hogwarts. Be ready to detain the enemy if Tobi and Hibiki fail to do so."

With nothing else to be said, the Akatsuki moved out.

"Alright Tobi, it's time to get our ninja on," whispered Hibiki from behind a large rock.

"Yes, now follow senpai's lead," Tobi whispered back.

It didn't take long for the two to reach the area. They had completely hidden their presence and were now waiting for the intruder to make a move. Although it was very faint, they could sense him somewhere at the top of the Owlery. As quiet as a mouse Tobi started to crawl forwards.

_He can't be serious…_ Hibiki sweatdropped. Not liking Tobi's bold move, Hibiki crept the other way and made sure to stay hidden. She waited a moment more, wondering what the intruder could be doing in there. Suddenly Hibiki caught sight of an owl flying out of the tower with a letter despite the drizzle caused by Pein's technique. _The intruder must have sent that, _she thought, _there's no one else in there._ Hibiki looked back down at Tobi to see him still crawling along. _He'll be fine._ And with that she went after the bird.

"Hibiki-kohai, are you following?" Tobi whispered. He turned around just in time to see her leave. "E-eh?" Panicking, he stood up and flailed, "Hibiki-kohai! Don't leave!"

With the ruckus outside, the intruder heard Tobi's shout and attempted to flee. The sudden movement from the Owlery, however, alerted Tobi of his plans. Tobi glanced at the direction Hibiki went off to, but then shook his head and chased after the disappearing figure.

The intruder was fast, but as many would tell you (hell you could ask Deidara), it's very hard to lose Tobi when he puts his mind to it. Despite the twists and turns the intruder did once they entered the Forbidden Forest, he still couldn't shake Tobi off his trail.

"Persistent roach!" the intruder shouted and sent a volley of kunais at Tobi.

Tobi yelped and jumped to another branch, tossing back a few kunais of his own. This continued on for a few more minutes until the intruder had had enough and abruptly stopped in a clearing. Tobi landed a few paces away and they faced one another, both sizing each other up. In front of Tobi stood a male probably in his twenties. There wasn't anything unusually about him: brown hair, brown eyes, and a standard build. The only thing that stood out was his forehead protector which had the symbol of Kusagakure.

The silence was broken when the masked goofball spoke, "I'm Tobi!"

Unsure of how to react, the man kept his guard up and responded, "Hajime."

"Great! It's always nice to know the name of the person you're going to crush." Tobi did a thumbs up.

"…"

"Hmmm… Now how should I defeat you? Maybe I should be flashy like Deidara? Or maybe I should be cool and silent like Itachi?" Totally ignoring his opponent now, Tobi put his hand on his chin and thought.

"Are you mocking me?" Hajime said in a low voice. He slowly began to put on chakra blades. While Tobi was still pondering his decision, Hajime struck. Tobi shrieked when he finally noticed the flying male heading towards him. Diving to the ground, Tobi scrambled to his feet and dashed to the right, Hajime close behind.

"UWAAH!" Hajime just narrowly missed cutting Tobi's throat.

"Get back here."

"Nope!" Jumping to the side, Tobi sank into the earth and popped up a bit away from the enemy. He gave a little battle cry and started chucking shuriken and kunai haphazardly. This didn't do much though, since Hajime was able to deflect them with his blades and charge at Tobi again, only to miss when he suddenly dropped into the earth and appear in a different spot.

Frustrated, Hajime ran forward, kicking up mud and rocks at Tobi, and twisting his body for a round house kick at the blinded Akatsuki member. For once Hajime finally landed a hit and sent Tobi crashing into a tree. Disoriented, Tobi shakily got up seeing stars. Not missing a beat, Hajime came at him again with chakra gathered in his blades. Tobi seemed to have regained his senses long enough to duck, but was knocked aside again by another kick, this time Hajime's leg was encrusted with earth.

"For an Akatsuki member you're not very strong, are you?"

"…A-ahh… don't underestimate Tobi."

"Tch, I wasn't supposed to engage in a fight with any one of you, but I'm sure they won't mind if I take out one bug."

"Ara? Who's they?"

"That's confidential."

* * *

Harry was still in the Great Hall when Ron and Hermione joined him.

"Mornin' Harry… You're up early."

"Yeah, my scar was hurting again."

"Again? You should tell Dumbledore, Harry," said Hermione, eyes wide in alarm.

"It was probably nothing," Harry said briskly.

"I dunno, it hurts when Voldemort is near right? But that can't be possible… Maybe cursed scars always act up?" said Ron.

"Either way, Dumbledore has to know about this. It could be serious," stated Hermione with more force.

"I told you I'm fine."

"But—"

"Just drop it Hermione, Harry already said he was okay. Besides, Dumbledore has guards protecting the school."

"Makes me wonder why he hired them in the first place. It can't just be for the tournament."

"Hmm... where are they anyways? They're usually at breakfast."

Hermione looked over to the table and saw that none of them were there. Of course, occasionally there would be a few members missing from the table during mealtimes, but she couldn't recall a day where there wasn't at least _someone_ there. Harry wasn't as surprised as Ron and Hermione were though. After Sasori, Hibiki, and Kisame came in, none of the other members showed up.

"They're probably still at the meeting," said Harry.

"Meeting? What meeting?" said Ron in confusion.

Harry proceeded to tell his friends of his morning encounter.

"Wicked."

"That just proves it!"

"Proves what?"

"That Harry should tell Dumbledore about his scar—what are the chances of it hurting on the same day they find someone lurking around Hogwarts?"

"That's hogwash, Hermione. It's just a coincidence."

"Don't be stubborn, Harry."

"Just forget I ever mentioned it. I'm not going to cause Dumbledore any trouble just because I can't handle a bit of pain."

Hermione huffed in a mix of frustration and exasperation, but didn't say anything more on that subject.

Breakfast was now over and the trio were leaving the Great Hall just as they heard a loud crack.

"Rats—I hope that wasn't thunder," Fred muttered as he walked passed them with George. During breakfast they had made plans to play some quidditch with the Gryffindor team. Even though there wasn't going to be a Quidditch Cup this year, it still didn't hurt to put in some practice for next year.

"It doesn't matter, we'll practice in any weather," said Angelina Johnson, the look in her eyes showed she meant business.

"Well, I'll see you guys later," said Harry. Ron hesitated, but was eventually pulled along by Hermione towards the library.

It wasn't raining very hard when Harry stepped out with the others. Angelina had them flying laps around the school and on his third lap Harry thought he saw the trees in the Forbidden Forest shaking. But knowing more than he'd like about the creatures that dwell in the forest, Harry didn't pay much attention to it and focused on his practice instead.

* * *

Tobi was kissing dirt again.

Unrelentingly, Hajime sent rock after well aimed rock at Tobi; trees were knocked over causing great amounts of mud to splash and splintered wood flying everywhere. All was quiet and Hajime crept towards the destruction and saw Tobi's still form. He smirked, as he had expected, it wasn't that hard to take down that specific member. He had been skulking around the castle long enough to determine that Tobi wouldn't be an issue. The rest of the Akatsuki on the other hand, he wasn't so sure about. Reaching his hand out, Hajime was about to grab Tobi when he was swiftly stopped by a chain whip wrapping around his wrist and pulling him away from the body. He was dragged along a couple of feet until Hajime managed to get out of its grasp.

"Jeez, I really thought he could have taken care of this without my help."

The ground began to shake and out busted Tobi, wielding a large mallet in which he used to smash down on Hajime's head, knocking him out instantly.

"Oh—I spoke too soon."

"I call that my Opossum-Whack-A-Mole Technique!"

"C'mon, let's lug this guy back to the boss." As she tied up the unconscious ninja, Hibiki got a good look at his face. _He looks familiar… _However she didn't have very long to ponder when Tobi hoisted the intruder and took off.

"Damn it—WAIT!"

* * *

**Thanks to everyone who reviewed, it was really encouraging. :)  
Whoop there was some action in this chapter! ...Even though I failed at the fighting... But that's okay, it wasn't meant to be a very serious fight anyway.**


	5. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or Harry Potter.**

* * *

"We got him! And it was all because of my amazing skills," Tobi boasted as soon as the Akatsuki came together. "Hibiki-kohai on the other hand needs a little more work."

"Hey! I might not have done much in the fight, but I intercepted a message from the enemy," retorted Hibiki.

"Where is the message," Pein demanded.

"Right here," Hibiki pulled out a letter, "you have no idea how hard it was to make that owl let go." Various scratch marks on her face and feathers stuck in her hair were a testimony to that statement. Although she looked worse for wear, it was nothing compared to Tobi. He was caked head to toe in mud and the orange of his mask barely showed through the brown.

Pein ripped open the letter and scanned through its contents. Inside were detailed notes and observations on every member of the Akatsuki, however, Pein could not determine who the letter was for. Even the envelope didn't have an address. "Is the intruder awake?"

"No, he's still knocked out cold," Itachi said from his spot next to the tied up prisoner.

"He's wearing a Kusagakure forehead protector, hm—hey Hibiki, you're from Kusagakure, you know him?" asked Deidara as he inspected the prisoner.

"…I…don't think so…"

"He said his name was Hajime, ring any bells?" Tobi piped.

"Hmm… nope."

"Whatever, once he wakes up we can interrogate him and find out why a ninja is out here," stated Sasori, "The village symbol isn't scratched out so we can assume that he isn't a criminal."

"He could be out collecting bounties. We all have a sizeable amount over our heads," suggested Kakuzu.

"No, it's highly unlikely that ninjas would be wandering in these lands. For whatever reason, he was here to spy on us and was sending vital information about the Akatsuki to someone else- someone who knows that we have come here," said Pein, his tone indicating that he was far from happy with that new knowledge.

"How much did he find out, hm?"

"Enough to know what you did in the lavatory last Friday."

Deidara's face went red, "Give me that letter, yeah!"

"Holy shit I want to read it." Hidan said with malicious glee.

"Fuck off!"

"What are you trying to hide, Deidara-chan?" the zealot snickered uncontrollably.

"Focus!"

Annoyed, Pein snatched up the letter he had placed on the side table and stuffed it in his robe.

"Sit down Hidan/Deidara," Kakuzu and Sasori snapped.

"Tch."

"Anyways," Pein continued, "once the prisoner wakes up, Itachi will question him. We'll discuss our next actions afterwards."

"He hasn't been moving for a while, you sure Tobi didn't kill him?" joked Kisame.

"I'm surprised Tobi actually managed to do something, yeah," said Deidara. The look he was giving Tobi was a mix of scrutiny and suspicion.

"Feh—come get me when something interesting happens," scoffed Hidan as he made his way to the door.

"Don't take another step," Pein commanded.

"Why the hell not?"

"The prisoner's waking up, idiot," said Kakuzu.

"Hey, I might not be as smart as the others, but I still deserve some respect, fuckin' cocksucker!"

"Silence!"

"Uugh," Hajime groaned, "What the hell…"

"Rise and shine sleeping beauty!" Hibiki said cheerily, "Get ready to spill the beans."

"Shut up," Sasori hissed.

"I won't tell you anything," Hajime snarled, struggling against the ropes.

"I wouldn't be too sure," replied Itachi. He activated his sharingan and grabbed Hajime's face, forcing him to stare into the red optics.

Hajime's eyes widened for a brief second until they suddenly went blank, lost in Itachi's genjutsu. Deidara, seeing this, was reminded of the time when he was defeated by those same eyes. He clenched his fists tightly and looked away, taking deep breathes to keep his temper in check. Getting so worked up wasn't going to help the situation at hand. Sasori saw this and raised his eyebrow but didn't comment on it. When Deidara turned back, Hajime was slumped over, foaming at the mouth slightly. Itachi had finished.

"He's working for another Kusagakure nin." Itachi stood up, "He was sent here by that nin to gather information on us and has been sending back reports. Hajime does not know the location the letters are being delivered to or the Kusagakure nin's identity. He was not told why he was sent to spy either. From what I could tell, he was placed under another genjutsu to do that nin's bidding—Once that genjutsu was disrupted, so were his memories."

"Well that's just fucking fantastic," said Hidan, "Now what?"

"Wake him up," said Pein curtly.

Shrugging, Hidan kicked Hajime. He didn't stir. "Damn Itachi, what'd you do to him?"

"Nothing."

"Kick him again, senpai!" Tobi cheered. Hidan complied and kicked Hajime again with more force. That did the trick, because he was suddenly gasping. Hajime looked around wildly. He didn't seem to register where he was until he finally noticed the red clouds.

"A-Akatsuki!"

"Whoa did he forget, yeah?"

Pein stood in front of the shaking prisoner and grabbed him roughly. "Why are you here?"

"I-I don't know!"

"Don't lie." Pein's eyes flashed threateningly.

"I don't remember! Please—"

"Who sent you?"

"I told you—I don't know!"

Itachi watched the exchange apathetically. "The genjutsu must have erased important memories."

Pein shook Hajime like a rag doll. "He's hasn't forgotten everything."

After a few more minutes of Pein smacking him around, Hajime finally caved.

"Alright alright! Someone from the village came to me asking for a favor."

"We already knew that," Pein slapped him and in the background Kisame was shaking from amusement, "Now tell us something new."

Hajime had a mutinous look on his face, but he continued anyway, "I don't know his name, but I've seen him around. He said he wanted me to gather intel on the Akatsuki—I asked him why, but he said that wasn't important. I said no at first—because no one has heard any news about the Akatsuki in a while so I didn't want to do anything difficult… I just got back from a mission… He said that was okay and left. Next thing I know, here I am."

Pein dropped Hajime harshly. "He's of no use to us anymore. Dispose of him, Zetsu."

"What—have some mercy!" Hajime began to struggle against his binds in an attempt to get away from the advancing plant.

"Wait just a fuckin' second," exclaimed Hidan, "I want to use him for my ritual."

"**I want to eat him.**" Hajime struggle even harder at that.

To stop a fight from breaking out, Pein quickly said, "Just recycle." Zetsu seemed to understand right away, but Hidan had to think about it for a moment before he finally got the memo. "Be alert. I am going to inform Dumbledore of this so stay out of trouble." With that last remark, Pein left the room. He walked briskly down the corridor and pushed the large door which looked like a painting of a beautiful landscape on the other side. It served as a hidden entrance to the Akatsuki's living quarters. Conveniently, the gargoyle that led to Dumbledore's office was not far away and it only took him a minute to get there. As he stood in front of the gargoyle, Pein made a face and uttered the password, "Cockroach cluster." He gagged a little at the thought. The gargoyle made its ascent, revealing stairs as it went up to Dumbledore's door.

A hard knock and a breezy "Come in" later, Pein was standing before the headmaster's desk.

"Ah, Pein, I hope your stay has been comfortable so far," said Dumbledore amiably, "Is there something you need?"

"Yes," there was no trace of the same friendly feelings in Pein's eyes or voice, "We have a problem—just this morning we apprehended a spy from our homelands. Someone sent him here and we can expect that they'll be sending someone else."

Dumbledore, not losing his gentle composure, said, "May I see the spy?"

"We disposed of him after he failed to provide any more useful information."

This made the old headmaster frown, "I know you don't think much of us wizards, but we have ways of getting out information too. Next time, I hope you would remember to not… dispose… anyone before handing them to me."

"Duly noted."

"Aside from that, thank you for telling me this," the twinkle in his eye returned, "I will notify my Order of the Phoenix. They may be able to find out more about this new development—now, serious business aside, would you like a lemon drop?"

"…No." The Akatsuki leader promptly left.

* * *

With nothing to do, the Akatsuki were bored. Konan, tired of sitting around with the others and listening to them bicker, decided to go to the library and do some more reading. When she got there, she saw the same fourth year students leafing through various books. She noted that they've been in the library a lot over the past month. The redhead, as always, looked fed up while the bushy haired girl paid no attention to him, going through book after book at a rapid speed that Konan didn't think was possible. They didn't concern Konan though, so she passed by them and took a seat in her usual spot by the window. Konan was pleasantly surprised to see that Madam Pince had left the books she was reading the other day right where they were. With care, Konan picked up a worn out copy of _Fairy Tails _and flipped to where she left off. Meanwhile, after Konan had left, the other members decided to go do other things too: The rain had finally stopped so Itachi and Kisame headed off to the lake for some fresh air and to take a swim in Kisame's case, Deidara, Tobi, and Hibiki went to see what the students were doing, Zetsu and Sasori went to the greenhouses, Kakuzu was probably in his room counting the galleons he had acquired (don't ask how), and Hidan was lying in the bloody circle in his room.

"Deidara! Let's fly up there," said Hibiki, excitedly pointing at the students who were flying around on broomsticks in the distance. "It looks like they're playing a game."

"Tobi wants to play too!"

Deidara sighed in annoyance. Why did they have to follow him? "Why? It looks ridiculous, yeah."

"No way, it looks fun!"

"TOBI WANTS TO PLAY!"

"Get there yourself, hm!" Deidara pulled out some clay and made a large owl. He jumped on its back and flew off, leaving the other two behind.

"Come back senpai!" called Tobi.

"Just let him go, Tobi. You can go after him after we see how those brooms work."

"That's a good idea! You're learning from me well, kohai." Tobi put his hands on his hips and tilted his head back for an obnoxious laugh.

"Eh." Hibiki went ahead without him.

Overhead, Deidara was enjoying the moment of peace. He drifted around Hogwarts lazily and watched the clouds drift. Below him, students gaped at the large bird. Smirking, Deidara contemplated on whether or not he should show them the full extent of his art. His thoughts were disrupted though when something suddenly zoomed by. Caught off guard, he formed more clay birds and was about to toss them when he realized it was just a student.

"'Ello mate, fancy seeing you up here." It was one of the redheaded twins, Fred. Or maybe it was George.

"Hm."

"That's a neat trick there," George (or Fred) commented as he circled around Deidara's clay bird.

Seeing an opportunity to brag, Deidara said, "This is more than just a mere trick, it's art."

Fred/George's eyebrows went up and he whistled, "Really?"

Despite the look of surprise, the blonde Akatsuki member could sense that he wasn't very impressed, so Deidara threw the small birds he had made earlier. "You haven't seen its real glory yet. Art is something that's fleeting…the beauty of a single moment." The birds flew around George/Fred's head and then flapped upwards. Deidara grinned widely and made a hand sign, "My art is an explosion!" There was a bright light.

_BOOM!_

"Wicked," the redhead said breathlessly.

"Of course it is, Fred."

"I'm George."

"Oh."

"No hard feelings," George laughed. "How'd you do that anyway? Wandless magic?"

"I can't do magic, yeah."

George's jaw dropped, "So you're a muggle?"

"Muggle?" Deidara scrunched his nose, that didn't sound very cool. "I'm a shinobi, yeah."

"What's a shi—"

"George!" an angry shout was heard and a dark skinned girl appeared. "What are you doing? Get back to the pitch!"

"Calm down, Angelina—I wasn't skipping out on practice," George sweatdropped. Jeez, ever since Oliver left, it seemed like Angelina had taken his place as the neighborhood quidditch nut.

"Then explain that explosion! If I find out you and Fred were doing some nonsense again I'm going to—"

"Why are you blaming me? I was just having a chat with Deidara over here and he was just showing me something," cut in George.

The livid look on Angelina's face was replaced by one of embarrassment when she finally noticed Deidara (how she ever missed a giant bird and a guy on top of it, we'll never know). "Oh! Hello…"

"Hey, hm."

"E-er… anyways! Get moving George, we need to keep practicing."

"Alright, see ya Deidara," George sighed.

"Wait, yeah."

The two Gryffindors turned around, puzzled. "What is it?"

"I'm coming with you."

A huge smile stretched on George's face, "Sure mate." Angelina didn't make any objections and so the three soared over to the quidditch pitch. Upon arriving they were greeted by Fred.

"Deidara! Nice of you to join us," said Fred, "Your friends are here too."

"Senpai! You came!" An orange dot on the ground shrieked.

"I thought you said this was ridiculous," Hibiki called.

"I don't have to explain myself to you," retorted Deidara as he landed, Fred, George, and Angelina following suit.

"Fair enough."

On the ground Tobi and Hibiki were surrounded by some other Gryffindors, one of which was Harry who had volunteered to teach them to fly.

"What are you guys doing? Practice isn't over yet," scowled Angelina.

"Oh come on, Angelina, we've been practicing all morning. Can't we take a break?" Katie Bell asked, her hair a mess from flying.

"Yeah, Angelina, we've practiced enough even though there isn't going to be a match, so let's just have fun," added Alicia Spinnet.

Unable to argue against her best friends, Angelina sighed and complied. "Oh alright—hey Harry! Practice is over; we'll meet up again next week." Angelina then left with her two friends in tow.

The Akatsuki members, Harry, and the twins were now the only ones remaining in the pitch. Tobi bouncing with uncontained energy grabbed one of the school brooms Harry was holding. Harry handed the other broom to the much calmer Hibiki. Before he did anything else, Harry turned to Deidara and asked, "Do you want to learn too?"

The blonde gave a blank stare at the extra broom lying in the grass and then back up to the twins who were zooming on their own brooms. _That looks idiotic._ "No thanks."

"Hurry and teach us, Harry," crowed Tobi.

Harry furrowed his brows and tried to think of a way he could teach them. To his knowledge, he didn't think they were wizards so he wasn't sure if they would be able to get the broom to fly into their hand. Well, might as well try.

"Uh, put the broom on the ground like this and have your dominant hand stretch over it," he said and demonstrated with his own broom. "Then say up." His broom rose up on its own and into his hand.

Hibiki tilted her head in confusion, "Why? Can't we just pick it up?"

"That's just how I learned," Harry responded sheepishly.

"Up." Nothing happened. Tobi tried again. "Up. Up. Up. UUUUUUP." No matter how many times he said it, the broom didn't even twitch. "I think mine is broken."

"How does this work anyway?" asked Hibiki.

"Er… magic?" What a lame answer Harry.

"But Tobi doesn't have any magic," whimpered the masked male, tears threatening to spill from his eyehole.

"Let me see that." Deidara forcefully took Tobi's broom. "You wizards use magic with your wands right?" Harry nodded, unsure of where he was going with this.

"Hm." Thinking deeply Deidara wandered if the wizard's magic was like chakra. From what he had seen so far at Hogwarts, they channeled magic into their wands and released that energy to create spells, a process that seemed similar to performing jutsus. The fact that each spell had a specific wand movement correlated to how jutsus had specific handsigns and strengthened Deidara's theory. Maybe they channeled their magic into the brooms. With practiced ease, Deidara concentrated some of his chakra into the broom. Slowly, he let go of it and to Tobi, Hibiki, and Harry's surprise, it remained floating.

"Whoa, senpai is so cool!"

"How'd you do that?" asked Hibiki enviously.

"I just used something called a brain," smirked Deidara.

"…Who knew you had it in ya," said Tobi.

"Shut up, yeah! You shouldn't be talking!" exclaimed Deidara indignantly, a comical look of anger on his face.

"How did you do that? You guys aren't wizards, right?" Harry questioned in wonder.

"I asked him that earlier," George called down as he flew around them, "said he was a shinobi."

"Shinobi?" a look of confusion came over Harry.

"Ninja," Hibiki answered shortly, "Now tell me how you did that Deidara!"

Astonished, Harry could only listen numbly while Deidara explained, using weird terms like chakra and jutsu. _Hermione is going to freak._

"WHOOOP! Look Harry, I'm doing it," cried Tobi in unadulterated glee, broom floating beside him.

"That's great, now mount the broom and give a little push." Again Harry demonstrated for the Akatsuki. Hibiki followed his directions and was able to float above the ground a few feet, although unsteadily. Tobi, on the other hand, was a bit too excited and ended up shooting out into the sky like a loose cannon ball.

"WOOHOOOOOO!" He yelled, flying around so fast that he was just an orange blur, "How do you stop?"

"Lean back a little!" yelled Harry, flying after Tobi with Hibiki right behind him. Deidara looked at the spectacle for a moment, shrugged, and joined them in the air with his owl.

The twins laughed when Tobi nearly hit one of the stands. "Watch out," they called, but it really wasn't much help. Finally, Tobi managed to slow down and head back towards the others.

"Let's have a race," he suggested, gasping a little from the adrenaline rush.

"Sounds fun," Hibiki chimed, "Deidara, you should join in too."

"Hmph, members of the Akatsuki shouldn't be playing games, yeah."

"Looks like someone's afraid of losing," Fred said slyly.

"I'm not afraid of anything," snapped Deidara.

"Are you suuuure? Senpai must be afraid of losing to Tobi" egged the masked male.

"There's no way I'll ever lose to you!" A vein popped on the blonde's forehead. "Fine, I'll race too."

The twins, circling around Harry, Deidara, Hibiki, and Tobi, chuckled and high-fived.

"How about we make it a bit interesting?" started Fred.

"We'll make wagers," finished George.

"Hmm… I like the sound of that," Deidara smirked.

"What will be our prize?" asked Harry.

"Well, if one of us wins, we want 5 galleons from each of you," the twins said.

"5 _galleons_? Kakuzu wouldn't even give us one sickle!" exclaimed Hibiki.

Tobi pat his pockets and raised his hands, "I don't have any money."

"That's too bad- if you lose… you're just going to have to find a way to pay us."

"Ara… I don't know what I want if I win," the masked male said, scratching his head.

"Tell you what, we'll give you some products we've made," said George, "You look like the type of guy who would enjoy a good joke or two."

"DEAL!"

_Why do I feel like that's a bad idea…?_ Hibiki thought with a frown as Tobi and the twins shook hands. She shook her head, "Well if I win, I want to switch partners with Deidara."

Tobi did a dramatic intake of breath. "Hibiki-kohai! You're willing to trade in your senpai for someone else?"

"Yeah."

"Tch, calm down Tobi, you and me will never be partners—cause I'm going to win." Deidara said confidently. "And when I win, I want to see what's behind that mask."

"Oooh that's a good wager," said George, "Maybe we should change our bet."

"No way, George, we need the money," Fred asserted. The redhead drifted over to Harry and wrapped his arm playfully around Harry's neck. The kid had to quickly grab hold of his broom stick in order to prevent himself from falling. "So Harry, what would you like?"

It didn't take very long for Harry to make a decision. Turning his head towards the Akatsuki, he said "I want to know more about ninjas."

Fred clapped Harry on the back and smiled, "Hey that's an interesting demand too." Deidara, however, eyed Harry critically and wondered why he wanted to know. After all, Fred and George didn't try to find out more once they knew what shinobi meant. Despite his suspicion, Deidara, and the other two members, didn't speak up after George asked if there were any objections to the conditions. Seeing none, George continued and laid out the race's route.

"We'll start from the pitch and do three laps around the school. Whoever gets back to the pitch first, wins. Anything goes—"

"Except our good friend Deidara over here is going to have to use a broom—just to level the playing field. You've already agreed to race so you can't back out," interrupted Fred, his mischievous grin never fading even as Deidara sent Fred a reproachful look. Drat, he was going to have to ride a broom after all. Tobi didn't even bother to conceal his amusement (he was pointing and laughing) when Deidara rose up beside him, unhappily perched on a school broom.

"Shut up and just get on with it, hm."

The racers lined up, each determined to win. "Ready, set, go!"

* * *

Inside the library, Pein had an intense urge to bang his head against the table.

* * *

**This chapter was originally going to have more to it, but after typing some of it out I realized it would have made the chapter _really_ long. I decided to split the chapter in two and hopefully the second part won't take too long to write.  
Anyways, thanks for reading and don't forget to review!**


	6. Chapter 5

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or Harry Potter.**

* * *

The race was going smoothly the first lap around Hogwarts. Fred and George were currently in the lead with Deidara, Hibiki, and Harry steadily closing in on them. Tobi had some difficulties starting and so he was left in the dust, last place. Even though Fred and George had more experience flying on brooms than the rest of them, Harry was sure he would be able to overtake them—that is, until the first dungbomb was thrown on their second lap. Using his experience from quidditch, Harry was able to maneuver his way around the tiny abominations. Deidara and Hibiki, who were currently engaged in a name calling contest with each other, noticed the tiny shapes heading towards them too. Hibiki was about to move out of the way when Deidara suddenly grabbed the back of her broom, causing her to come to a jarring stop, and then sped off. She was hit full force by the dungbombs while trying to right herself up and not fall. The enraged shriek she sent after Deidara and the twins was enough to make Harry's blood run cold as he increased his speed to avoid getting sucked into the woman's wrath (and the bad smell). Up ahead, Fred and George high-fived each other and flew over the small courtyard, Fred turned and pointed his wand at the incoming Deidara and attempted to send a stinging hex at him. Deidara, seeing what they meant when they said "anything goes," dodged with ease and threw some tiny clay birds at them. The birds fluttered quickly past all the spells Fred shot and exploded around him. Of course they weren't lethal explosions—Deidara wasn't an idiot. In his opinion they were more like puffs.

"Fred!" George shouted, pausing as he saw his brother fall. He did a spell to slow Fred's descent, giving him enough time to regain his senses and get back on his broom, which he held on tight to with one hand. Due to their distraction, Deidara was able to pass them up.

"You alright?" Harry called when he got close enough.

"Yeah, took me by surprise," coughed Fred, "_Impedimenta!_" The twins chuckled at Harry's astonished expression.

"Sorry, mate. Gotta do what you gotta do," saluted George before the twins took off after Deidara. A couple seconds later, Hibiki came flying by with a dark expression on her face and made a curve around the castle towers, not even sparing Harry a glance. Harry wished the spell would wear off already. The smell of dung was still lingering in the wind even after Hibiki had left. By the time Harry could wiggle his fingers, Tobi had passed him up. That left Harry in last place. Gritting his teeth, Harry forced his body against the invisible force that was slowing him. He had to win this race and get information. It was probably the only way to get Hermione to let up on all the research and give back Ron's freedom, as the red headed boy had proclaim was taken from him. Finally breaking free from the spell's effects, Harry urged his broom to go faster and make up for lost time.

When Harry made it half way across the lake, a spectacle near the boathouse made him stop. Columns of water were shooting out from the black waters creating an obstacle that stunted the racers' progress.

"AUGH! Stop it Kisame, yeah!" shouted Deidara after getting soaked. He threw some bombs at the shark in the water but before they could detonate, Kisame sent a huge tidal wave to knock them away and blow up in the water harmlessly. Not too far from Deidara, Fred was struggling against a raging woman while Tobi darted around trying to avoid an ever-bashing boomerang. George was skimming near the water's surface trying to land a spell on the blue-skinned Akatsuki member. Over at the docks Harry could see Itachi watching the whole scene with an emotionless expression. Unsure of what action he should take, Harry tried to sneak past everyone. It didn't work. A shot of water nearly knocked him off his broom.

"SERIOUSLY!" Deidara got soaked again.

"Nah, this is too fun," laughed Kisame.

When he and Itachi left the living quarters, Kisame wanted to go for a little swim in the lake. With the Hogwarts students wandering around the grounds, Kisame didn't want to take a swim at the shore. He really could do without the stares and constant Jaws references. So it was a lucky find when they stumbled upon the boathouse. Kisame could swim to his heart's content without any wandering eyes and Itachi could have some peace from the gaggling girls. He was floating on his back when he first saw his fellow members and a few students fly by at a fast pace—on brooms no less. Kisame was curious so he asked Itachi what he thought they were doing. Itachi told him to ask them once they came back around. That's exactly what Kisame did when he saw Deidara again. Kisame created a large column of water to block Deidara's path. After a quick exchange of words, they somehow got into a fight that dragged the other racers in.

"Whoa!" George was unsuccessful with his assault on the shark and had ended up getting pulled into the water by a tidal wave. With dramatic flourish, he clutched his heart and yelled up to Fred, "Go on without me!"

"I'm bloody trying!" replied Fred. He had finally shaken free from Hibiki's grip but was now faced with the challenge of getting pass Kisame and his troublesome water columns that seemed to pop out from nowhere.

"Oh fuck this!" Out of frustration, Deidara tossed a barrage of clay bombs to which Kisame responded with another wave of water. However, instead of having puffball booms, Deidara created a full on explosion that sprayed water everywhere, blocking Kisame's vision. Although slightly blinded, Harry took the opportunity to get out of Kisame's range. He shot out of the mist of water and nearly crashed into Tobi. The orange masked male barely noticed however due to the boomerang that refused to stop trying to hit him. Deidara, Hibiki, and Fred were out of sight, and Harry wondered if they had already gone ahead of him.

_Only one way to find out,_ Harry thought. Flying away from the lake, he was going along the greenhouses when he saw Deidara appear right behind him. Alarmed, Harry thought fast and casted a protective shield. His instinct proved right when he felt a rush of heat as small bombs exploded next to him. Taking the offensive, Harry cast various spells to try and slow down the blonde. Deidara barrel rolled out of the way and sent more of those blasted birds. For a moment the sky was riddled with color as the bombs blew up one after another like fireworks at the Quidditch World Cup.

"_Aguamenti_," the boy who lived muttered. One of Deidara's bombs had managed to set the end of his broom on fire.

The second lap was done. Deidara was getting annoyed. Why couldn't these brooms go any faster? The Harry kid was still in front of him and was doing a pretty good job of defending himself. The blonde briefly wondered how well Harry would do up against him if he was attacking at full force. Strangely enough he hadn't seen Hibiki, Fred, or Tobi after they finally got away from Kisame. He wasn't worried though, hopefully they had knocked each other out of the race leaving him with less competition. If not-then he would just have to knock them out himself.

They were curving around the large courtyard now. The noticeable sounds of explosions had brought out many curious students, and worried teachers stared from windows. Professor McGonagall stood stock still at her office window; mouth gaped in a mix of shock and horror. In the library Pein banged his head on the table at the sight of Deidara chucking bombs at a student. Beside him, Konan hid a small smile while Ron pressed himself against the window, shouting Harry's name. Madam Pince promptly came over and silenced him.

Harry was still in the lead when Fred joined him and Deidara. Tobi was running after them on the ground. Apparently, when they had reached overland, the boomerang conked Tobi in the head. Repeatedly. After endless begging and crying, Tobi finally got Fred to blast the boomerang to pieces, ending the assault—only for Tobi to unleash an assault of his own. This didn't sit well with Hibiki and she tried to break Tobi's broom while Fred shot spells at them. By then they were near the greenhouses. Sasori, who had been in there collecting some plant samples (in other words, stealing), came out and looked to the skies after hearing explosions. Sasori nearly choked after catching a glimpse of Deidara flying on a broom, chasing after a student. He stood there for the next few seconds contemplating how he should kill Deidara. It was then he saw Hibiki and Tobi in the distance. On brooms. Fighting a student. Aggravated beyond belief, Sasori prepared to assassinate the two members. Some way or another, Tobi's broom was snapped in half and his face met the ground. Surprised, Hibiki tried to get out of Sasori's range, but suddenly heard Fred shout "_Incarcerous_", effectively tying her up with ropes. With no way to steer, Hibiki landed next to Tobi. When Tobi looked up, Sasori was looming over them with a murderous look. Screaming in terror, Tobi fled the scene, but not before smacking Sasori in the face as a distraction. Hibiki didn't have to try to get away from Sasori because the smell from the dungbomb was like a repellent. Without anyone to hinder him, Fred was able to catch up to the last two contestants.

"This is the last lap," Fred shouted over the wind whistling by their ears, "Better make this count!"

"_Impedimenta_," yelled Harry, barely having to turn around to shoot the beam of light at Deidara—he was right next to him. Unfortunately for him Deidara braked to avoid the shot, but not before he managed to attach some clay spiders onto Harry's broom. The spiders were pretty adamant on sticking to the wood no matter how hard Harry tugged at them. _He's not planning on blowing them up… is he? _Harry thought in panic. No matter how small the explosion, he was pretty sure they were going to hurt and they were hundreds of feet in the air. Without thinking, Harry casted a stinging hex on the spiders and was pleased to see them shrivel a little before dropping to the earth. While he was focused on the spiders, Deidara was preoccupied by Fred who kept ramming into his side and attempting to stun him. Gritting his teeth, Deidara knocked into Fred with his shoulder, jarring the younger teen a bit.

Arriving at the lake now, Harry remembered the trouble Kisame caused them earlier and began to ascend further into the sky, putting as much distance as he could from the water. As expected, Kisame and Itachi were still at the boathouse. George wasn't there but Harry figured he was waiting for them at the quidditch pitch. Sharp teeth gleaming in the sunlight, Kisame formed quick handsigns that made several tendrils of water rise up. Like whips they launched themselves at Deidara and Fred. One almost got hold of Harry, but by then he had moved out of its range. The fighting duo weren't so lucky and had to quickly split apart from each other to avoid getting slapped by water. More columns of water rose up blocking their paths.

"Dammit Kisame I'm getting tired of your shit!" screamed Deidara, sounding much like Hidan, but Deidara was losing—to kids! And he was not happy. So he didn't care. A vein popped in his forehead when Kisame only responded with a laugh… and a water snake that shot out of the water, swallowing Deidara. Since Fred was a student, Kisame wasn't as aggressive towards him, allowing the red head to fly away before being splashed with water from the bombs Deidara set off inside of the water snake.

"See ya, mate!" Fred waved as he passed over the cliffs and towards the greenhouses.

Deidara could only mutter profanities under his breath as he watched him go.

The long stretch to the finish was a little nerve-wracking for Harry considering that Fred was right on his tail, shooting spells nonstop. Fred was really taking the race seriously and had no intention of letting Harry win without a fight. Somewhere along the way (Harry had a suspicion that it was when Deidara started another fight with Kisame) Deidara had dropped way back and there was no way he would be able to close the huge gap with the school broom. It was obvious that he wouldn't be able to win, so Deidara destroyed his broom in a childish fit of rage and rode on another large clay bird to the pitch.

When Harry landed at the pitch, Tobi was waving pom-poms and doing a cheer.

"YAHOOOOOO! You did it Harry!"

"Congratulations!" said George cheerfully, although there was a small hint of disappointment in his eyes. "I guess we'll just have to find another way to make some quick money, don't we, Fred?"

"Oh well, it was a fun race though, wasn't it?" laughed Fred.

Deidara, who had just arrived, hmphed, "Who would've thought a shrimp like you would win, yeah."

Although he felt offended by that comment, Harry didn't bother to retort or else he would risk angering the Akatsuki member, and that was the last thing he wanted to do. He still needed some quality information after all. "I won so tell me about ninjas."

"They're from Japan. There," said Deidara impatiently, "Why do you want to know anyway?"

"Uh, just curious." Harry said lamely. "That wasn't good answer by the way."

"Tch, tell me about it—there's a different reason why you want to know isn't there, yeah."

"No, I meant you."

An indifferent look was sent Harry's way and Deidara opened his mouth to say something, but Tobi's sudden screams diverted his attention away. "What the hell is wrong with you, yeah?"

"I forgot about Hibiki-kohai!" wailed Tobi in utter despair.

"So, hm?"

"Sasori-senpai was so angry—he must've gotten to her already. NOW WE'RE NEXT!" Tobi was in hysterics. Fred and George were too, but it wasn't out of sheer terror. Well, until they saw Professor McGonagall marching towards them with an expression their mother usually wore when she was about to tell them off.

"SASORI'S COMING!" screamed Tobi.

"What?" Deidara looked to where Tobi was pointing at frantically, and Sasori was indeed heading their way with Professor McGonagall. Sasori's face had an awfully nonchalant look—like the calm before the storm… a storm that's most likely going to have Deidara's body parts cut and scattered around like a morbid Easter hunt. "I'm out," said Deidara, quickly rising into the air.

"Wait—you still haven't told me more about ninjas!" Harry said in alarm. What the heck? He wasn't done collecting his prize!

"Some other time, kid," said Deidara dismissively.

"AHH SEMPAI! WAIT FOR TOBI!" The frightened male jumped up several times in an attempt to reach Deidara, but the blonde was already too high up. With no other option besides to wait for Sasori to get there, Tobi dived into the ground and started digging.

Feeling a bit put out, Harry could only watch as the valuable source of information flew away and an angry teacher and Akatsuki member come towards him.

"What do you think we should do, make a break for it?" asked Fred.

"Too late," replied George.

Harry sighed.

"What in the name of heavens were you boys doing?" Professor McGonagall shouted in outrage.

"We were just racing, Professor," the twins said innocently—or so they tried.

"Racing? _Racing?_ 20 points from Gryffindor—each of you!"

"But Professor—"

"No buts! Do you know how dangerous that was? Explosives! How could that barbarian use that against children?" fumed McGonagall.

"We're sixteen—"

McGonagall gave them a sharp look to which the twins zipped their lips.

"In Deidara's defense, they didn't hurt very much," said Harry. A bit unwise on his part for Professor McGonagall rounded on him next.

"Mr. Potter, I would assume that you would know when to stop putting your life in danger, but it appears I was wrong. I should put you all in detention!"

"But Professor we came out okay, didn't we?"

"Do you want me to call your mother, ?"

"No, m'am."

"Again, I'm sorry for my companions' lack of self-restraint and common sense," Sasori said, finally speaking up after dragging Tobi, who was still kicking and screaming, out of the hole he had dug.

McGonagall huffed, still a bit red in the face from her rage. "I do hope this does not happen again.

"Yes, once I get my hands on that brat I'll make sure he suffers the proper consequences." Sasori bowed a little, receiving some strange looks for that, and somehow tugged Tobi along even though there was no sign of ropes binding him.

"Save me!" Tobi whimpered pitifully.

"You brought this on yourself." Sasori yanked his hand, causing Tobi to face plant into the dirt.

Harry sighed again. He didn't know when he'll be able to get a chance to talk to Deidara. But there were other things to worry about right now. Like Professor McGonagall.

* * *

She had them cleaning up the boathouse, even though the twins argued that it wasn't them that had made the mess. McGonagall paid them no heed and took their wands, forcing Harry, Fred, and George to wash the tiles, fix the boards, and do maintenance on the boats by hand.

"I'm beginning to think the race wasn't worth this."

"Nonsense, Harry! You won," Fred chortled good-naturedly.

"Right now it feels like I've lost."

"I know what you mean, where's that sneaky Deidara? He's the one who was blowing things up like no tomorrow," muttered George who was still feeling sore from having McGonagall figure out he had given her a fake wand.

"Nah, I think he has it worse. He's gotta deal with a mad Sasori and face 'Pein'—you can take that as you want," said Fred.

Nobody said anything else and they continued their work in silence until late in the afternoon. Professor McGonagall returned to inspect their work and after giving them another lecture, they were free to go to lunch.

"Harry! Where were you? We saw you flying really fast and Deidara throwing bombs at you!" exclaimed Ron as soon as Harry sat down.

"We've been worried. Just what were you doing anyway?" reprimanded Hermione.

"I was racing against Fred, George, Hibiki, Tobi, and Deidara."

"Bloody hell! Was it really necessary to have _bombs_?"

Harry scratched his head sheepishly, "Yeah, Fred said anything was allowed."

"Well that was absolutely reckless," huffed Hermione, "you could've gotten hurt."

"Don't start—we already got an earful from Professor McGonagall, I don't need one from you too."

"Well you deserve it for doing something so stupid."

"I got something really good out of it though," said Harry, a small smile tugging at his lips from anticipation.

"Yeah, what?" asked Ron.

"They're ninjas."

Hermione stopped eating at that and sat up straight, giving Harry her full attention.

"During practice George went off somewhere saying he heard something. Angelina noticed George was missing so she went to look for him. While she was gone, Tobi and Hibiki came over and said they wanted to learn how to ride a broom so I told them I'd teach them. When Angelina and George came back, Deidara was with them so Angelina ended practice. I tried teaching them how to ride a broom like how Madam Hooch taught us, but Tobi and Hibiki couldn't get the broom to go into their hand—Deidara was watching the whole time and took the broom from Tobi and got it to float somehow… I asked him if he was a wizard and he said he was a shinobi—which apparently means ninja. Hibiki asked him how he did it and he said some weird stuff like chakra and jutsu. Afterwards they were all able to fly on the brooms and Tobi suggested we raced. Before the race started we made some wagers… I said I wanted to know more about ninjas if I won."

"Did you win?" Ron asked with wide eyes.

Harry grinned, "Yeah, but I couldn't get anything out of Deidara before he left. He told me to ask him some other time."

"Then what's the point of that?" Ron said disappointed.

"It's brilliant actually," said Hermione, "We weren't having much success looking in the library and now Harry has given us an opportunity to get some accessible information."

"The only problem is finding an opportunity to talk to Deidara," Harry added, "I don't think he's going to be around for a while."

"No doubt. Me and Hermione saw Pein grab him. The bloke looked _pissed_."

Harry sighed (probably the fourth time now) and grabbed some food. All that flying really gives him an appetite. The three didn't say much, all lost in their own thoughts. Harry's eyes wandered around the hall and he made eye contact with Malfoy, who sneered at him before leaning to tell his posse something that made them erupt in laughter. Rolling his eyes, Harry looked to the Akatsuki's table and saw only Hidan, Zetsu, Konan, and Kakuzu. Konan met his eyes and smirked a little before turning her attention back to her food.

* * *

"What the hell were you thinking?" Pein asked in a dangerously low tone.

"Obviously the brat wasn't," quipped Sasori.

"Quiet," hissed Pein.

Deidara was trying his best not to look the leader in the eye.

"Didn't I specifically tell you to take this mission seriously? What part of throwing explosives at a student qualifies as taking the mission seriously? Answer me!"

"I don't know, yeah."

"Give a better response, brat."

Deidara scoffed and still refused to look at Pein.

"I told you not to get into trouble," Pein grinded out, jaw set in an angry scowl.

"I tried to tell senpai that racing was a bad idea!"

"What! _You_ were the one who wanted to race," Deidara yelled, eye twitching uncontrollably.

"Quiet!" Pein narrowed his eyes, "I won't even bother asking you two, but you'd think you'd learn your lesson by now."

Tobi and Hibiki whined pitifully.

"Kisame!"

Said shark perked up, "Yes leader?"

"Why the hell would you participate in their nonsense? And you—Itachi, I expected more from you. As Kisame's partner you should have made sure he stayed in line."

"…I'm sorry."

"I hope you know that you will all suffer under my wrath."

It wasn't until a week later that the Akatsuki members were seen again.

* * *

**Well that was a long race, I'm pretty glad I finished writing it because I was starting to get bored. You guys didn't get bored though, right?  
Anyways, thank you for reading and I appreciate all the reviews!**


	7. Chapter 6

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or Harry Potter.**

* * *

There was a tingle of excitement in the air. Today was the day the Beauxbatons and Durmstrang delegates arrived. Hogwarts students peered at the large windows, giving oohs and ahhs at the sight of a large blue carriage being pulled down from the sky by flying white horses and a ship emerging from the black lake. Before they could get a good look at the incoming students, the Hogwarts students were ushered into the Great Hall and put into their respective tables to wait for the grand entrance. The Akatsuki were all assembled at the front tables with the teachers, barely listening as Dumbledore drawled on about how wonderful it was that their rivals were here or something equally sappy. Hidan was slouched over on the table, fingers drumming away impatiently. He was hungry.

Finally after what felt like ages, the large double doors opened and in stepped a large woman and blue clad female students bustling in gracefully after her. Hidan whistled and was subsequently smacked on the back of the head by Kakuzu.

"They're minors you disgusting oaf."

"Go suck a cock," Hidan whispered back vehemently to which he was shushed by Pein.

Grumbling, Hidan watched as the double doors opened again and a shady looking man strutted down the aisle with burly young men in his wake. There was a murmur in the Great Hall. Students whispered and pointed excitedly at one of the Durmstrang boys. Hidan could hear a distinct "It's Viktor Krum!" from one of the redheaded boys at the Gryffindor table.

"Who the hell's Viktor Krum?" Hidan muttered in Kakuzu's ear.

"If you were more aware of your surroundings you'd know he's a prominent quidditch player."

"What the fuck's quidditch?"

Kakuzu sighed and refused to respond. Sneering, Hidan turned to his neighbor, Kisame, and nudged him.

"Oi, when do you think we'll get some fucking food around here?"

"Shh!" Pein gave Hidan another dirty look before going back to listening to Dumbledore.

"Anal piece of shit," huffed Hidan.

He watched Dumbledore pull out a huge goblet and say some more things that he could care less about before finally saying "eat up."

Like a beast Hidan pounced on the food, bits of it flying everywhere and hitting Kisame and Kakuzu in the face. A look of disgust washed over Kakuzu as he wiped his unmasked face (the students had reacted terribly when they first saw his stitches but after a few days, they finally got used to it).

"Can't you be a civilized being for once in your miserable life?"

"Shuckmahdeek."

Kakuzu had to refrain himself from stabbing Hidan, some ministry officials had arrived with the delegates and Pein was adamant in making sure that the Akatsuki did not embarrass him. He promised pain to anyone who even tiptoed over the line. Throughout dinner Pein kept a watchful eye on every one of the members and tensed whenever Fudge, Crouch, or the two headmasters addressed someone.

"A-ah I see you are enjoying the food at Hogwarts?" Fudge asked, attempting to start a friendly conversation with Hidan.

The silver haired male turned his head back a little to look Fudge in the eye. He stopped chewing and snarled, "I'm trying to fucking eat. Don't talk to me." Hidan promptly resumed feasting and Pein mentally screamed and envisioned himself stuffing plates down Hidan's throat. Fudge didn't know how to respond, his mouth opening and closing with no words coming out.

"The food is wonderful," Konan said politely, "We have been very comfortable at Hogwarts too."

"O-oh! Fantastic," Fudge replied weakly and then started a conversation with the much friendlier member. Pein cast her a grateful look before turning to Hidan and motioning his hand across his throat. Hidan raised his eyebrows in a "what the hell did I do?" look.

"Hey hey senpai. Do you think they'll let me enter my name in the cup?" Tobi asked as he poked Deidara repeatedly.

"No, yeah."

"Ahh senpai you're giving me mixed signals."

"I said no!"

"Shut up brats, people are trying to eat in peace."

"Oh really? I haven't seen you take a bite, yeah." The blonde had a sly look on his face.

"Shut up."

"Hey Sasori-senpai, can I have your potatoes then?" Not waiting for a response, Tobi leaned over Deidara and spooned himself some of the creamy goodness.

"Get off of me, yeah!"

"Table manners!" hissed Pein from down the table.

Crouch watched the members interact for a moment longer before questioning Dumbledore. "I don't know what you see in them nor do I understand why you think it's necessary for them to be here."

"Ah my friend, trust me on this. They may be brimming with youth but I assure you that they do not lack experience. This year is going to be a busy one for the ministry so I thought I could help alleviate some of your stress by getting some people to help."

Crouch scowled, "I don't see how adding more stress would help."

"Do not judge them too quickly, Crouch," chuckled Dumbledore.

"Hmph."

"I'm sorry—I couldn't help but overhear," said Pein, "You have no worries, my group will see to it that the students are safe." The determined look in his eyes silenced Crouch, who merely nodded although he still wasn't convinced. Professor McGonagall gave a disapproving look. She still remembered the incident with the race.

When the feast finished, Pein was mulling things over in their living room. After becoming acquainted with Karkaroff, there was a nagging feeling at the back of his mind. When he had shook his hand he felt a small surge of foreign energy.

"Zetsu."

"Yes, leader?"

"Keep a close eye on Karkaroff."

Zetsu nodded briefly before slipping into the walls.

* * *

The next morning the goblet of fire was in the middle of the Great Hall with a wispy white line circling it. After breakfast, some brave students went up and placed their names in it. On the sidelines, Hibiki, Tobi, and Sasori watched the possible candidates while Deidara sat a few feet away and played around with some clay.

"Tobi wants to put his name in it!"

"Don't!" pleaded Hibiki, "Boss said not to."

"But I wannaaaaa," Tobi whined, flapping his arms around while Hibiki struggled to hold him back at the table. "All the other kids are doing it."

"If all the other kids jumped off a bridge, would you do it?" drawled Sasori in a monotone voice.

"…Yes?"

"Idiot."

"Who cares, just let him do whatever he wants, yeah."

"That's easy for you to say, you're not the one responsible for him."

"Well that's your problem, hm."

"Why do you have to be an ass all the tim—"

Hibiki stopped midsentence as the doors banged open and the notorious twins barged in, arms raised and encouraging the crowd that followed them to keep cheering. Deidara stopped molding his bird and looked up in interest. Earlier in the day the twins had stopped him in the hall to inform him of their ingeniousness and it was part of the reason why he was lurking around the goblet. Basking in the attention they were receiving, the twins whooped and raised their hands in the air, showing a vial that twinkled in the dim lighting. Sasori sensed where this was going and rolled his eyes. Tobi, on the other hand, looked inspired. With a grand flourish the twins downed whatever they had concocted and jumped together inside the lines. Gryffindors yelled their approval when it appeared that the twins had beaten Dumbledore, however it soon erupted into laughter when they were thrown out with grey beards. The Great Hall went wild as the twins comically rolled around fighting. Sasori made a small noise of distaste. The maturity levels of the students were abysmal. A movement to his left caught his eye and he rubbed his temple. Hibiki pounded the table as she laughed with the children and Sasori decided he wouldn't even bother to warn her. Deidara snorted at the twins' display and turned back to his clay.

Unable to deal with the ruckus, Sasori stood up and made his way to the doors and deftly avoided the crowd of Durmstrang students that waited on the other side. Deidara watched him go and opted to not follow him this time. Instead, he put his clay away and sat there idly, wondering when something interesting would happen. Ever since Hajime showed up, the Akatsuki had increased security around the school and Pein would occasionally use his rain technique. However, there were no sign of enemies. He was bored. The only time where he actually had a little bit of fun at Hogwarts was when he participated in the race… speaking of which, Deidara felt like he was forgetting something. Deidara scrunched his face in concentration; even Tobi's giddy giggles couldn't make him lose focus.

Unlike Deidara, Harry hadn't forgotten about the deal. In fact, he had been trying for days to find a way to bring the topic up. However, after witnessing Deidara's volatile temper towards Tobi, he had been a bit reluctant to approach the Akatsuki or else he risked getting choked. His hesitance prompted Hermione to constantly nag him to confront Deidara—which she was doing right now while he was trying to have a conversation with Ron about Viktor Krum.

"Quit it Hermione," snapped Harry after she prodded him for the fifth time, "I'll talk to him some other time."

"But now's a good time Harry! How long are you going to put this off?"

Ron sighed from beside him, "Hermione you're just as bad as my mum—you better get it over with already, Harry, if you want her to stop."

"But—"

"Oh for goodness sake!" scolded Hermione as she rolled her eyes. Annoyed, she forcefully shoved Harry in the direction of Deidara. Ron's mouth gaped in shock and he could only stare at her incredulously. Harry on the other hand, nearly tripped and sprawled on the floor. He shot his friend a venomous look and Hermione responded with an exasperated "Go!"

Harry took a deep breath and walked the short few steps toward the blonde male who had broken from his reverie and was now looking at him with amusement. Reluctantly, Harry agreed with Hermione that now was as good a time as any to approach him. Hibiki and Tobi were too preoccupied with the twins and Sasori, who was usually with him was nowhere in sight, leaving Deidara alone and free of any distractions.

"What, hm?" grunted Deidara as he scrutinized Harry.

"Er, I came to find out more about ninjas—remember that's what we agreed?"

Deidara's eyes flashed for a moment as he realized that's what he had forgotten about. Harry tensed, mistaking Deidara's change in expression as hostility. "We made a deal," he said firmly even though he was feeling a bit nervous.

"I know, yeah," said Deidara, "How much do you know?"

"That they're from Japan and that they were used as spies or something," said Harry hesitantly, "but the muggles say that there aren't any ninjas around anymore". Even though the Hogwarts library had a bunch of books on muggles, they weren't that specific and opted to talk more about the magical side of things.

Deidara looked lost in thought, but then his mouth twitched into a smirk. "Alright, I'll tell you more."

Relief and excitement reflected in Harry's eyes as he took a seat.

"Ninjas did exist in Japan at one point, hm, but those were petty criminals that got kicked out of the mainland." Deidara leaned a bit closer to Harry, as if he was telling him something confidential. "If you wanted to see the real deal then you'd have to be in the mainland, yeah."

"Where's that?"

"Somewhere around Japan, hm. You'd never be able to find it though—it's surrounded by illusions."

_Is that what the letter meant by demons…?_ Harry thought. "Then what are you doing here?" he asked boldly.

"What?" Deidara's tone became sharp and Harry subtly moved back.

"I just thought if we couldn't find it, then how did you get here? Wouldn't there be illusions to prevent people from their way here too?"

Deidara seemed to relax, but his eyes still watched Harry suspiciously. "You're right. There's an illusion that blocks ninjas from finding out about this place, yeah. But it was put there a long time ago, and like any other spell, it gets weaker as time goes on, hm." Deidara leaned back on his chair and continued, "Not a lot of people know about it, but even so you weren't supposed to cross the boundary, hm."

"Why'd you guys leave?" pressed Harry.

"You're getting a little too personal," said Deidara, narrowing his eyes.

"S-sorry. Why couldn't people cross it?" asked Harry.

With his eyes still locked onto Harry, Deidara shrugged. "Don't know, never really cared, hm."

"What's chakra?" Harry inquired after a brief lapse of silence.

"It's energy, yeah. Like your magic—ninjas have chakra to use for their techniques." The blonde suddenly stood up. "I think I've told you enough, hm."

Harry shot up. "Wait, you can't just go. We had a deal."

"And I fulfilled it, yeah," He said as he took long strides to the double doors. Startled, Harry ran after him and blocked Deidara's path. The Akatsuki member looked disgruntled, "Move it."

"Not until you tell me more. What are these techniques? And what are the ninjas like in the mainland?"

"Look, yeah," Deidara grounded out, getting annoyed. "I already did. If I remember correctly, your condition was that you wanted to know more about ninjas, right? Well now you know more than you originally did, yeah." Deidara pushed pass Harry, nearly knocking down the shorter teen and reached the entrance. He stopped and looked back at him, a smirk on his features and lifted his hand for a nonchalant wave. "If you wanted to know everything then maybe you should've been specific, yeah."

Harry didn't even bother to run after him again. His shoulders slumped in defeat when he realized that there was no way he could change Deidara's mind. Frustrated, he had to admit that Deidara had a point. He had told him more than what he originally knew, and his condition had been vague. As Harry walked back to his friends, he couldn't help but feel puzzled. When Deidara waved, he could have sworn that he saw a tongue stick out of his palm…

* * *

Finally it was evening. The whole day Kisame had been venturing around the castle with Itachi. The calm Uchiha was great and everything, but he could be a stick in the mud sometimes… Most of the time. After the racing incident Itachi had made sure Kisame behaved. The Uchiha didn't take well to scoldings it seemed. He was like a shadow, following Kisame wherever he went and voicing his disapproval whenever it looked like he was about to do something even remotely fun. Even though Itachi meant well, Kisame really wanted to bash something. It had been a while now and there were no signs of any ninjas roaming around, much to Kisame's disappointment. He had expected at least someone to come to the area to find out what had happened to Hajime. When Pein agreed to the mission, Kisame had hoped that there would be more action. All they were doing was babysitting snot-nosed brats. Fortunately things were about to get interesting as Dumbledore stood before everyone, about to announce the champions and thus start the tournament.

Beside Kisame, Itachi watched the proceedings impassively. The ornate goblet flickered, sending shadows dancing across the faces of expectant students in the semidarkness. From behind him he could sense that Karkaroff and Madame Maxine were anxious too. The flames of the goblet suddenly turned red and sparks began to fly from it. The flames rose up and a piece of parchment shot out. It fluttered into the awaiting hand of Dumbledore who cleared his throat. "The champion of Durmstrang," he read in a strong, clear voice, "will be Viktor Krum." The Great Hall erupted into huge applause as Krum made his way to the chamber, acknowledging Karkaroff's loud praise as he did so. Itachi clapped politely, but returned to sipping the tea he requested from Dumbledore and watching as a dainty piece of paper danced in the air after being shot out of the goblet.

"The champion for Beauxbatons," said Dumbledore, "is Fleur Delacour!" Cue another round of applause as she gracefully swept pass the Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff tables. Down the table Hidan whistled before getting stabbed in the face with a paper plane. Itachi watched Konan shoot Hidan a warning look to which the zealot responded with his middle finger. Kakuzu then snapped it, causing Hidan to howl in pain. However, the cheering masked the sound of his agony. Itachi continued to sip his tea, patiently waiting for the night to be over so he could get some rest.

A silence fell over the Great Hall. The Hogwarts champion was next, and the students were tense with excitement. For the third time, a tongue of flame shot out from the goblet along with a slightly burnt piece of parchment. "The Hogwarts champion," Dumbledore called, "is Cedric Diggory!" The Hufflepuffs jumped to their feet with glee and roared, stamping their feet together. Tobi joined them in their jubilation and stood up on his seat. Cedric grinned broadly and headed to the chamber where the rest of the champions waited. Unlike the other two, the applause went on even after Cedric had disappeared through the door. It took some time until Dumbledore was finally able to be heard.

"Excellent!" Dumbledore called happily, "we now have our three champions. I am sure you will all give your champions every ounce of your support. Although you may not be participating, by cheering your champion on, you will be—"

Dumbledore stopped speaking. It wasn't hard to figure out what had distracted Dumbledore. Everyone turned their attention back to the goblet, which had turned red again. Kisame, who had slumped in his seat from boredom, sat up straight immediately. Sharp teeth were displayed as something out of the ordinary finally happened. Another piece of parchment shot into the air, landing in Dumbledore's stiff hand. He stared at it for a moment before reading in a hoarse voice, "Harry Potter."

It was dead silent. All eyes were on the Harry, who Itachi identified as the 'boy who lived'. The little nickname reminded him (unwillingly) of someone back home and he observed how the boy sat frozen in his seat, color draining from his face. Harry looked stunned and didn't move even when Dumbledore called his name again, all warmth in his voice gone. At a slight push from the girl beside him, Harry finally got up and made his way shakily to the chamber. No applaud or support followed in his wake. Hidan, who had been busy trying to fix his broken finger, watched everything proceed without comment. Judging by the atmosphere, he knew that it would be wise to keep his mouth shut. The two ministry officials scurried after Harry and Pein stood up along with McGonagall. They both rushed to Dumbledore. Seeing their leader leave, the Akatsuki prepared to follow but stopped when the students gasped. Dumbledore also paused in the doorway with Pein and McGonagall. The Goblet of Fire's flames were red.

A piece of paper flew into the air and landed on the floor near the table of students. Nobody dared to pick it up. Dumbledore's face grew even grimmer and his light footsteps could be heard as he walked to the paper. Everyone seemed to be holding their breath while Dumbledore stared at whatever was written. He looked up and said in slight disbelief, "Tobi."

Over by the table Hibiki's mouth dropped in horror. Itachi schooled his face into a neutral expression and Kisame grinned in unconcealed amusement. Not sensing that it was a very bad thing, Tobi raised his arms and cheered, "Yay!" before skipping to the chamber. Before he could make it through the door, Pein, who had a frighteningly cool face, grabbed him. Konan strode urgently over to his side followed by the rest of the organization. Hidan was unable to process what had happened and stayed still, breaking the silence with an unrestrained "What the fuck." He finally moved after Kakuzu dragged him by the collar of his cloak.

* * *

**Sorry this came out so late. Some things came up (yeah lame excuse) and truthfully, I lost the inpiration for the story. But not to worry! I think I've gotten things together. Part of the reason for my lack of inspiration was that it was exhausting having to flip through the book and make sure I got my facts straight, but you know what? I think I'll take some liberties and branch off from the book a bit. So if some details are off, then whatever. **


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